Films to Watch: The Black Girl Project

Image from Super Hussy

From the Awesome New Project files, Aiesha Turman, who heads the blog and media company Super Hussy (read her reclamation story here), has set out to capture the lives of young black women by asking the simple question "Who are you?" to Brooklyn high school girls. Turman created The Black Girl Project documentary, in order to let young black girls tell their own story instead of the one-dimensional versions of black women much of the news and pop culture churn out.

Of the girls featured in the film, Turman says

They were multidimensional and real. We don’t see that in our world; we see caricatures. We have so many flat portrayals of Black females and live in a culture where Black women and girls are either venerated for their saintly accomplishments which strips them of any other character attribute except that of martyr/mammy, or demonized and used as the fall gal to explain away all that is wrong with the Black community and society-at-large. So, by being vulnerable, by being open and ready to tell their truths, by just being themselves, they confront and overcome stereotypes.

The movie led Turman to turn the Black Girl Project into a non-profit to provide self-esteem, critical thinking, and leadership to black girls. Find out more about the non-profit at BlackGirlProject.org

Here's a promo...

And some sample audio (and some shaky cam if you can handle it) (Rush transcript (.doc)

The film had it's first screening last week at the Spike Lee Screening Room at Long Island University, but will have another screening in Washington DC and will be out on DVD at the end of September. Check for more updates at The Black Girl Project and Super Hussy.Turman is also working on The Compendium, an annual publication, the first issue of which will focus on women of color learning about sexuality.

Examining Black Girlhood [Zora & Alice]
The Black Girl Project Premiere [Racialicious]