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Girlhood

About the Film
Year Released: 
2003
Running Time: 
82
Documentary/Fiction: 
Documentary
Synopsis: 

GIRLHOOD tells two coming-of-age stories from the real America: Shanae, ten years old
when she was gang-raped by five boys, responded by drinking and drugging, and then
graduated to murder, with the stabbing death of a friend, at age 11.  Megan, whose mother
abandoned her to turn tricks to support her ravaging heroin addiction, ran away from ten
different foster homes before being arrested for attacking another foster child with a box
cutter.  Both girls ended up in the Waxter Juvenile Facility, home to Maryland's most
violent juvenile offenders. It is here that their journeys really begin.

SOURCE:http://www.studioclub.com/sxsw.htm

Poster Image: 
Director
Film Director: 
Liz Garbus
Production Info
Reported or Estimated Budget: 
N/A
Location: 
Baltimore, Maryland
Categories About the Film
Genre: 
coming of age
documentary
Keywords: 
coming of age
family
glbtq
incarceration
sexual abuse
urban life
Racial/Ethnic Affiliation: 
African American
Filmmaking Team
Writer's Name: 
Liz Garbus
Producer: 
Liz Garbus/Rory Kennedy
Cinematographer: 
Tony Hardmon
Primary Cast: 
Shanae Owens, Megan Jensen
Exhibition/Distribution Info
Distributor: 
Wellspring Home Entertainment
Box Office Earnings: 
$37827
Where to find it/How to get it: 
DVD widely available
Festivals/Awards: 
  • Tribeca Film Festival 2003 (World Premiere)
  • South by Southwest Film Festival 2003
  • Nantucket Film Festival
  • Atlanta Film Festival

  • Audience Award - 2003 SXSW
  • Best Documentary - 2003 Atlanta Film Festival
  • Audience Award - 2003 Nantucket Film Festival
Links
Link to the official film website: 
Girlhood Film Website
Links to Official trailer: 
Girlhood Official Trailer
Links to interviews (written) with Director/Filmmakers: 
She's Got Moxie: Liz Garbus on "Girlhood" and Lives of Incarceration
Interview with Liz Garbus, Director of Bobby Fischer Against the World
Links to Videos of Interviews: 
Scott Feinberg Interviews Liz Garbus
Analysis
Personal Film Review and Cultural Context: 

Shanae and Megan’s struggle to come out of the system and integrate back into society is captured in this powerful documentary. A captivating and emotional reflection of how the criminal justice system works and fails both young and old, and the issues with the way the system categorizes people in its correctional methods. Through first person interviews the audience is able to delve into the individual tribulations the girls face in their attempts to find solid ground in a turbulent environment. Liz Garbus’s minimalist style draws the audience into Shanae and Megan’s journey out of a juvenile institution and their determination to reintegrate into the outside world.

-Iliana Domnguez-Franco

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