Black Girls & Women: More Than Meets The Eye

Sept. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC --- After a successful New York premier, Brooklyn-based  filmmaker and educator, Aiesha Turman, is taking her documentary film, The Black Girl Project (www.blackgirlproject.com) on the road. Next stop, Washington, DC. Teaming with DC-based artist collective, The Saartjie Project (www.thesaartjieproject.org), the screening will take place on Saturday, September 25th at Affinity Lab (920 U Street, NW) beginning at 6:30 PM.

“It's my hope to be able to reach as many Black girls and their allies as possible with this film and subsequent work,” says Aiesha Turman. “It's vitally important that the lives of Black girls are valued just as much as the lives of their counterparts. It's time that we, as a community-at-large, embrace and uplift our young women so that they can become the self-actualized individuals they deserve to be.”

Produced by Turman’s Super Hussy Media (www.superhussy.com), The Black Girl Project (BGP) focuses on one core question: “who are you? “That one question spawned another, then another and yet another, but the one initial question is at the heart of the film.

Hosted by Saartjie Project founder Jessica Solomon, The Black Girl Project event will begin with a screening of the film followed by an open discussion with the audience and a director “talk-back” with Ms. Turman.  Prior to the event, the public is invited to participate in a Twitter-based discussion with Aiesha (@blackgirlproj) and Ms. Solomon (@saartjieproject) on Wednesday, September 22nd at 9PM. The social media based event gives participants a chance to ask the filmmaker questions around some of the themes touched on in the film as well as allow audience members from the New York screening and those interested in viewing the film to share their thoughts as well. The hash tag for the event will be #blackgirlprojDC.

“As The Saartjie Project is currently developing a new performance piece that explores the liberation of black women we find Aiesha's documentary timely and necessary,” said Jessica.  “We are excited to bring The Black Girl Project to DC and are looking forward to an evening of beauty, dialogue and transformation.”

This film, also the impetus for a non-profit (www.blackgirlproject.org) of the same name, seeks to portray black girls as the complex beings they are. Not just the two sides of the coin we see perpetuated in the media: saint or sinner. It also seeks to spark inter and intra-generational dialogue between black girls and women.  The film screening will also serve as a fundraiser for the Black Girl Project organization. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit http://theblackgirlproject.eventbrite.com/

ABOUT THE SAARTJIE PROJECT

Founded in 2008, The Saartjie Project is a Washington, DC-based artist collective producing and developing performance art through collaborative processes.  We are committed to working together consistently to develop a distinct body of work + practices reflective of who we are: black women poets, singers, performance artists, visual artists and dancers gathered to create dynamic art that explores the intersections of our experiences.

For more information, visit: www.thesaartijieproject.com.

ABOUT BLACK GIRL PROJECT

The Black Girl Project aims to address the challenges girls face in their daily lives, in addition to helping girls build a strong sense of self, develop healthy relationships and take care of their bodies and minds. Black women and girls are under siege within their own communities and society at large. Not only are they more likely to contract HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), they are at high risk for physical and sexual assault, and death from curable/manageable ailments such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension. In addition, they are more likely to be living at or below the poverty line.

The Black Girl Project addresses the critical worldwide problem of low self-esteem, lack of education, poverty rates and issues specific to black adolescent and pre-adolescent girls regardless of ethnicity. The Black Girl Project is designed to foster positive self-esteem, critical thinking, leadership, academic achievement, community service and entrepreneurial skills among girls, ages 8 to 17, in the United States, the Caribbean, South America, Africa, Europe — wherever there are black girls in need.

This film, also the impetus for a non-profit of the same name, seeks to portray black girls as the complex beings they are. Not just the two sides of the coin we see perpetuated in the media: saint or sinner. It also seeks to spark inter and intra-generational dialogue between black girls and women.

For more information about the Black Girl Project, visit: www.blackgirlproject.org.

ABOUT SUPER HUSSY MEDIA

Super Hussy Media is independently owned, written, edited and designed by filmmaker and writer, Aiesha Turman. A strong believer in the empowerment of young women and girls, particularly those of color, Aiesha created Super Hussy as a means to explore black life as it related to the female gender across place, class, time and sexuality. The site focuses on projects that are intensely personal and through them, hopes to shed light on the contradictions, triumphs, perils and beauty that is black womanhood.

Utilizing traditional and emerging media as tools for investigation, Super Hussy Media engages in frank dialogue surrounding the issues of race, class, gender, spirituality and sexual orientation and the roles they play in the lives of black women and girls through the use of women and families, both historic and contemporary. By illuminating the hardships, struggles and complexities of black womanhood, Super Hussy Media seeks to change the paradigm through which black women are viewed and ultimately, how they view themselves.

For more information, visit: www.superhussy.com


CREDITS

Conceived + Directed By
Aiesha Turman
Primary Participants
Chanel Jones
Courtney James
Netchem Hairston
Aurelia Spence
Amanda Rivera
Tiffany Coley
Paige Padgett
Melissa Henry
Additional Photography
Nasheim Williams
Netchem Hairston

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