Girl Rising

A film about the power of education to change a girl – and the world.

From Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins, award-winning Documentary Group, Vulcan Productions, and Intel Corporation comes Girl Rising – an innovative new feature film about the power of education to change a girl – and the world.

Girl Rising is distributed by CNN Films and Gathr, an innovative demand-based theatrical distributor. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez, and other A-list actresses contribute voice performances to the film, which features original music from Academy Award winner Rachel Portman, in collaboration with Hans Zimmer.

The film spotlights unforgettable girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from the dumps of Cambodia to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who composes music to help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian “pavement-dweller” whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter’s dreams. Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country. Edwidge Danticat, Sooni Taraporevala, Aminatta Forna, and others tell the girls’ stories, each in its style, and all with profound resonance.

These girls are each unique, but the obstacles they’ve faced are ubiquitous. Like the 66 million girls around the world who dream of going to school, what Sokha, Suma, Ruksana, and the rest want most is to be students: To learn. And now, by sharing their personal journeys, they have become teachers.

MEET SOME OF THE WRITERS OF GIRL RISING

Haitian writer, Edwidge Danticat, shares her experiences with Girl Rising and what it was like getting to know Wadley.

Afghanistani writer, Zarghuna Kargar, shares her experiences with Girl Rising and what it was like getting to know Amina.

Egyptian writer, Mona Eltahawy, shares her experiences with Girl Rising and what it was like getting to know Yasmin.

Ethiopian writer, Maaza Mengiste, shares her experiences with Girl Rising and what it was like getting to know Azmera.