Girls’ Voices Now, a new show currently streaming and airing on HereTV, recently won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Children’s Program. While most of our blog entries have focused on historical works or objects, we are thrilled to have an opportunity to highlight an important contemporary series. The show’s premise revolves around a summer program that seeks to empower young women of color to find their voices through documentary filmmaking. Each participant is given a camera and asked to capture various elements their daily lives. This footage is then edited and made available to the public.
The episode highlighted above, called “Under the Scarf,” was shot by Mehrin, a teenage girl whose family immigrated to the US from Bangladesh when she was just eleven years old. This Emmy winning short steps the viewer through her attempts to navigate the ins and outs of high school social life, while also staying true to her personal and familial identity. Mehrin’s story addresses some of the major challenges of assimilation, as well as the remarkable and charming ways that she has learned to adapt to this new culture.
Girls’ Voices Now is produced by Stephen Jarchow – a UW-Madison alum and generous supporter of the WCFTR. We are so gratified that Jarchow has donated his papers to our collection, and we look forward to spotlighting more of his important and deeply resonant contemporary works in the future.
If you are interested in viewing more episodes of Girls Voices Now, you can find them through HereTV.