During the 2020 Sundance Film Festival last week, Gucci hosted a special CHIME FOR CHANGE film screening of the 14-minute animated short film, “Sitara: Let Girls Dream”, by Academy Award Winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, followed by a panel discussion on the subject of gender equality. Over 200 people watched this short film at The Shop near The Library Center Theatre in Park City, Utah.
In this animated short, a 14-yr-old girl named Pari from Pakistan has her dream of being a pilot crushed when she is forced into child marriage. “Sitara: Let Girls Dream” was made in collaboration with CHIME FOR CHANGE to support Equality Now and ‘Girls Not Brides’ in an effort to bring an end to child marriage.
After the screening, Susan Chokachi, Gucci President and CEO, introduced the panel. Chokachi explained, “We’re all in with Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy all the time. She’s an Academy Award winning filmmaker and just someone who brings stories to life with incredible courage, fierce determination, and limitless compassion for the subjects and the subject matters that she covers. So we’re so proud to be part of this project.”
(Photo by Owen Hoffmann/Getty Images)
Many did not know that 12 million girls are married off as child brides every year around the world. And there are an alarming 23 registered child brides per minute worldwide. The film’s goal is to encourage conversations and awareness of this issue, along with inspiring young girls to dream big.
(Photo by Owen Hoffmann/Getty Images)
The panel discussion was moderated by VICE News correspondent Paola Ramos, and included Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Director), Ariel Wengroff (Executive Producer) and Yasmeen Hassan (Global Executive Director, Equality Now).
When asked about the WHY behind her film, Obaid-Chinoy explained; “It all starts with a dream. I come from Pakistan. If you had told a girl growing up in Pakistan, where there was no film industry to speak of, that she would one day be the recipient of two Academy Awards, I would have said, that is not possible. But someone allowed me to dream, and gave me the ability to dream, and gave me the wings to dream. And that is the conversation that I want to happen in homes. This is as much about child brides as it is about robbing young girls of important dreams.”
(Photo by Owen Hoffmann/Getty Images)
Obaid-Chinoy then emphasized, “Animation allows you to say things that I feel other mediums do not. It is a non-threatening medium, that’s why I chose animation.” And it also allows you to reach the young girls who may not be watching a documentary film like “Girl Rising” (another important film about empowering young girls that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, ironically at the same location in 2013).
Executive Producer Ariel Wengroff then added, “I think it’s really important to remember that most young people spend their lives overcoming the identity claimed for them….So animation is an opportunity to have a discussion.”
To help raise awareness of this issue and encourage girls to dream, “Sitara: Let Girls Dream” is being shown in schools and in community centers around the world with partners and the support of Gucci.
When asked about the numbers, Yasmeen Hassan (Global Executive Director, Equality Now) explained, “In the decade, 2000-2010, there were 250,000 child brides registered in the U.S., and that does not include marriages that are not registered. In the U.S., there are only two states that recognize 18 as the minimum age of marriage with no exceptions, which includes New Jersey and Delaware. There are 20 states that allow marriage at any age with parental consent and judicial consent…So there is a coalition to end child marriage in the U.S., and we are activating all states to have 18 as the minimum age for marriage with no exception, and to get rid of these loopholes.”
To get involved with this #LetGirlsDream movement, there are three things you can do:
- Like/Follow @sitarathemovie on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and share our posts.
- Post on social media about why you support #LetGirlsDream and encourage your friends to share their dreams at LetGirlsDream.org. And tag @sitarathemovie and @ChimeforChange!
- Help spread the word about local screenings of SITARA and post from a screening if you attend or host one.
The CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign was founded by Gucci in 2013 to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for gender equality, works to build powerful connections to encourage conversation, self-expression and meaningful action.
Many thanks to Gucci, Susan Chokachi, Paola Ramos, Ariel Wengroff, Yasmeen Hassan, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (who won two Oscars for 1) “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” Best Documentary Short Subject in 2016 and 2) “Saving Face” – Best Documentary, Short Subjects in 2012), and everyone who made this eye-opening Sundance Film Festival screening and panel possible.
Look for “Sitari: Let Girls Dream” on Netflix, who is scheduled to release this short film in 2020 to 190 countries.
