Order Now on DVD and iTunes!

We’re thrilled to announce that It’s a Girl is available now on DVD and iTunes!

order now

The release date intentionally coincides with the anniversary of China’s brutal One Child Policy on September 25. This population control policy is often enforced through coercive measures, including forced abortion and forced sterilization. In combination with son preference, the policy has led to the elimination of millions of girls.

By making It’s a Girl available on the anniversary of China’s brutal policy, we hope to further fuel a movement to see the policy and its impact on gendercide come to an end.

Throughout this month we are releasing several exclusive clips from the DVD special features as we lead up to the release date!

Watch this exclusive look behind the scenes of the music for It’s a Girl:

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“It’s a Girl” Coming to iTunes and DVD for Personal Use in September!

We’re thrilled to announce that It’s a Girl will be available on iTunes and DVD next month. The release coincides with the anniversary of China’s brutal One Child Policy on September 25. Pre-orders will be available from September 10.

Throughout the month we’ll be releasing several exclusive clips from the DVD special features as we lead up to the release date, so stay tuned!

The exclusive iTunes release will be available in the following countries:

Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mozambique, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, U.K., U.S., and Zimbabwe.

The personal use DVD will be packaged with a printed Discussion and Action guide as well as a number of never before seen special features. The DVD will be available to ship globally.

 

“It’s a Girl” Available in Italian and Romanian

Human rights issues as widespread as gendercide demand a worldwide response. To truly mobilize a global movement to see gendercide come to an end, people must be able to learn about the issue in their own language.

Before launching our screening campaign in 2012, we prioritized the translation of It’s a Girl into several major languages including Spanish, French, Chinese and Hindi.

IAG584x800ITALIANSince our initial launch, several groups have contacted us with a passion for expanding the reach of It’s a Girl into their own language group and have volunteered their time to translate the film into their heart language. As a result of their commitment to raising awareness about gendercide, we are thrilled to announce the availability of It’s a Girl in both Italian and Romanian. Both the Italian and Romanian premieres will be happening later this year.

Rosanna Del Buono, an American subtitler in Rome and screening host for the upcoming Italian Premiere, shared a bit more with us about what motivated her and a community of like-minded individuals to bring It’s a Girl to Italy:

“I happened to come across a trailer for “It’s a Girl” and was immediately struck by the atrocity of the phenomenon of gendercide. I never realize how drastic and appalling the situation was.

I decided right then and there I wanted to find a way to bring the documentary to Rome, Italy. I first attempted to find a venue in the fall of 2012… unfortunately, in vain. I put the project aside for a while and in the spring of 2013 I set out to make it happen. I emailed various venues again and got a reply from Domenico Monetti and Laura Argento of CSC-Cineteca Nazionale/Cinema Trevi. They were very interested in hosting the screening. We met in person and sealed the deal: I would pay for the license and they would offer their space. Initially I had planned to show the documentary only in English but realized it would get better exposure in Rome if we had an Italian subtitled version. Since I myself work as a subtitler in Rome, I was lucky to have a vast network of Italian friends and co-workers I could reach out to. I was overwhelmed by the willingness and availability of my fellow translators: Grazia Esposito, Cecilia Gonnelli, Cristina Liso, Marta Monterisi, Carlotta Scarlata, Angela Tripaldi- who volunteered their time and energy to translating the documentary into Italian. Victor Castillo and Laser S. Film Srl offered their technical support. While Tina Cancemi, Orsola Clausi, Kissy Dugan, Roberta Pesci offered to pitch in and help me pay for the license fee.

Thanks to all of these friends, the documentary will reach a larger number of people and hopefully encourage others to step up and take a stand against gendercide!”

cinema trevi 2

The Italian Premiere of It’s a Girl will be a public event held on September 20th, 2013 in Rome, Italy.

Thanks to the efforts of these volunteer translators in both Italy and Romania, It’s a Girl is now available with Italian or Romanian subtitles for screening events, and later this fall will be available on DVD and iTunes.

If we do not yet offer the film in your language, please consider bringing It’s a Girl and the message about gendercide to your language group by volunteering your time to translate the film. For any completed translations, you can receive a discounted screening license, and have the potential to raise awareness among thousands more people in your nation about gendercide.

To learn more about how you can bring It’s a Girl to your country and language, please contact us at subtitles@itsagirlmovie.com.

The views expressed by guest contributors to the “It’s a Girl” blog represent the opinion of the individual author who contributes the content and should not be interpreted as being endorsed or approved by Shadowline Films. We feature these contributions to foster dialogue and exchange on gendercide and invite our readership to join the discussion. – See more at: https://itsagirlmovie.com/my-journey-to-advocacy-providing-a-voice-for-those-who-werent-given-one/

How to Become a Culture-Changer –Director Evan Grae Davis’ Talk at TEDxGrandRapids

TEDxGR1-300x200It’s a Girl film director Evan Grae Davis was recently invited to speak at TEDxGrandRapids, engaging an audience of 750 leaders, influencers and innovators from the West-Michigan area on May 9th, 2013.

When Evan was asked what he would be speaking about, this is what he had in mind:

“I had previously been privileged to speak at TEDxGateway in Mumbai, India, where I laid out the foundational issues underlying gendercide. This time, I wanted to address the questions that have repeatedly come up as I speak at screenings and events related to It’s a Girl and the campaign to end gendercide in India and China.

‘Who are we to say that cultural practices like son preference are bad? Is it the business of members of the world community like you and I to judge other nation’s cultural practices and demand change when we don’t agree?’

“In this talk at TEDxGrandRapids, I explore the questions: What is culture? Is it always a-moral? Does the world community have any moral responsibility to act in the face of human rights violations that result from diverse cultural traditions? I also share some of my own personal story and journey.”

Watch Director Evan Grae Davis’ TEDxGrandRapids talk titled “How to Become a Culture-Changer.”

Women Deliver 2013 Conference

logoWomen Deliver is a global advocacy organization bringing together voices from around the world to call for action to improve the health and well-being of girls and women. The third global conference was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from May 28-30, 2013. This year, Women Deliver’s Cinema Corner dedicated three days to film screenings that would run parallel to the various presentations. It’s a Girl was selected to screen on the first day, and the music video for It’s a Girl featuring original music by Omekongo Dibinga screened on the third day.

If you haven’t yet seen the official It’s a Girl music video, you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHE_3vRkpwk

We are honored for both the documentary and music video to be selected for Women Deliver Cinema Corner. However, we are also appalled that Women Deliver invited Indian politician J. S. Kurien, a man implicated in one of India’s highest profile gang-rape/sex trafficking cases of a teenage girl, to speak at their 2013 conference.

A 16-year-old school girl in the town of Suryanelli was kidnapped, held hostage for 40 days, during which she was raped by the 42 men she had been ‘sold’ to. When she was finally found, she was so battered and had lost so much blood the doctors said she wouldn’t make it. Kurien was one of the accused in this case. He was identified by face by the victim but never arrested. To read the full story click here.

Women Deliver faced loads of criticism on the web and an official Causes petition by the 50 Million Missing Campaign was created demanding an apology to the victim.

Women Deliver’s official statement:
“We were unaware that Indian Parliamentarian PJ Kurien is facing allegations of rape. While we cannot comment on the specific allegations, had we known of the controversy, we would not have permitted PJ Kurian to speak at the side event. Addressing violence against women is central to our mission as an organization and one of the focus areas of this global conference.

Our hope is that the several thousand participants in Women Deliver conferences truly advocate women’s rights around the world and that they recognize female gendercide as one of the most pressing women’s rights issue today.

BBC Reports on Gendercide and “It’s a Girl”

BBCBBC Radio ran a major feature last week on the issue of gender-based abortion in countries including India & China. Shelagh Fogarty of BBC Radio 5 Live played excerpts from It’s a Girl and explored gendercide through first hand testimonies and expert commentary, including  Dr. Mitu Khurana, Dr. Puneet Bedi and Reggie Littlejohn, all of whom were featured in It’s a Girl.

The program audio can be played below. We commend the BBC for giving attention to this important issue!
BBC Investigative Report on Gendercide, featuring It’s a Girl

Chinese Embassy Staff Refuse to Accept Delivery of Two Hundred Thousand Petitions Calling on China to End Gendercide

b2ap3 thumbnail DC-press-conferenceIn the wake of the Capitol screening of It’s A Girl Tuesday evening, Wednesday, Congressman Chris Smith joined with Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, and other members of the Coalition Against Gendercide at the Capitol to highlight the more than two hundred thousand petitions signed by people around the world, through the Causes platform, demanding that China end forced abortion and sterilization under the One Child Policy, and take action against gendercide.

Smith, Littlejohn and the Director of It’s a Girl – Evan Grae Davis – then attempted to deliver the petitions to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, but the embassy staff refused to open the doors to accept them.

b2ap3 thumbnail petitions-chinese-embassy-2“The press were staging cameras in front of the embassy before we arrived, so clearly the Embassy staff had plenty of notice that something was coming their way,” said Davis of the attempted delivery. “Congressmen Smith and Reggie Littlejohn were neither permitted entry nor did anyone answer the pages through the intercom system at the door, though we could see movement behind the glass windows. All attempts were met with silence. At one point, an individual who appeared to work for the embassy  approached the doors and also tried to get into the embassy, but they quickly ran off once it was clear the doors would not be opened as long as we were present. It’s clear to me the embassy had heard we would be delivering the petitions and rather than hear the voices of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, they chose to lock their doors and prevent even a member of the U.S. Congress from being heard.”

We are committed to delivering the petitions and making your voices heard, so please continue to sign this petition so when the time comes, even more signatures will be delivered. We will not allow China to shut its door on the millions of women and girls impacted by gendercide and forced abortion!

Sign the petition here

Bipartisan Members of U.S. Congress Stand With The Coalition Against Gendercide to Host “It’s a Girl” Screening

b2ap3 thumbnail SmithCongressmen Chris Smith (R-NJ), Jim Moran (D-VA), and Mark Meadows (R-NC) joined with the nonpartisan Coalition Against Gendercide to host a special screening of It’s A Girl in the Capitol building in Washington D.C., in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights. The members of Congress were joined by congressional staff, NGO leaders and members of the media for this groundbreaking event.

Gendercide “is a crime against women, a gender crime that has no parallel or precedent in all of human history,” said Congressman Smith, who chairs the House International Relations Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee and Co-Chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “This film will awaken many to these atrocities and will hopefully call forth men and women of goodwill in every country of the world.”

“In the early years of this country slavery was excused by many as… a cultural thing. It wasn’t cultural, it was wrong. Similarly [gendercide] is not cultural, this is criminal,” added Congressman Moran, a senior Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. “The extent to which we stand by on the sidelines and don’t do anything about it makes us culpable as well. Today, what this country and this world needs to be about is ending gendercide because it is…inexcusable.”

Gendercide “has led to horrifying increases in human trafficking, sexual slavery and gang rapes,” said Congressman Meadows, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pointing to the recent headlines and international outrage about the rape and torture of a 5-year old girl in New Delhi. “We talk about wanting to find more common ground in Washington DC. And this is an issue where Democrats and Republicans can absolutely agree. Gendercide must be stopped.”

b2ap3 thumbnail Jill“The statistics are staggering in India. The Indian Crime Records Bureau reports that the rapes of children, which can ultimately of course lead to death, have increased 336% in India in the past 10 years,” noted Jill McElya, Vice President of the Invisible Girl Project, a partner in the Coalition Against Gendercide active in India. The recent New Delhi horror, on the heels of the gang rape of a 23-year old woman that raised national and international outrage a few months ago “illustrates the problem that is going on in India. The laws are there to protect women but the laws must be enforced. Corruption must be stopped. People must be taught that girls are every bit as valuable because they are human beings.”

“This is truly an issue about which the left and right can agree. No one supports forced b2ap3 thumbnail Reggieabortion because it’s not a choice,” said Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, a partner in the Coalition Against Gendercide active in helping women in China. “Together, China and India comprise one third of the world’s population. That one third of the world’s women are deprived of the right to bear girls is the biggest women’s rights issue on earth.”

“Gendercide cannot be lumped into simply an issue about abortion. It’s broader than that. This is about violence against women, discrimination against women and it really is an area of tremendous common ground,” said Andrew Brown, the producer of It’s A Girl. “That is something we are committed to as filmmakers as we screen this film around the world, at the British Parliament, the European Parliament, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and here in Washington this week. We call on the leaders here in the U.S. and those around the world to take meaningful action against this extreme injustice.”

–– Read Press Release

b2ap3 thumbnail with congressmen 20130425-215023 1

Mitu Khurana– A Mother’s Ongoing Battle for Justice

Mitu Khurana is a doctor in Delhi who fought to save her twin daughters from being selectively aborted, despite torture and violence at the hands of her husband and in-laws. Her story is told in It’s a Girl,and has inspired audiences around the world! Since becoming one of the first women in India to take legal action against her in-laws and the doctor and hospital who conducted the illegal sex-determination test, Mitu has become a champion for girls in India.

But her story is not over. Her battle for justice in the courts has been met by threats of rape and murder against her and of kidnapping against her daughters. We asked Mitu to write this post updating us on where her case stands in the courts and how her ongoing struggle for justice is going.

We are safe and away from violence. Otherwise in the courts, it’s a long perhaps never ending battle. The accused are rich and powerful. They have the powers to influence the authorities. I am very A-mother-fights-to-save-her-daughtersvery far away from attaining my goal.

Any change, if it happens, can be through the youth, if they are sensitized by people who themselves are sensitive to such problems. Until then, perhaps only international pressure and intervention by UN to stop the gendercide can save us.

The desire for a son is prevalent all over India. Some have the means to go for sex-selective abortion; others resort to abandoning, neglecting or killing their daughters. Programs like “Satyamev Jayate” (a popular series on social issues) and the movie, “It’s a girl” can help a lot to spread awareness. Neighborhood watch groups, training groups, NGOs which train people to become watch dogs can also help.

There are weak moments, when I feel it’s a losing battle, because the accused are powerful and the system doesn’t want women like me, who walk out and save their daughters. On the other hand it always favours people who are rich and powerful. It was the struggle against my husband which turned into a struggle against the whole system.

This woke me up. Things need to change at every level. It’s no longer a personal fight, because now I am fighting the system, which does not want daughters, which does not respect women, which does not think of providing justice because of patriarchal attitude, and corruption.

Added to it was the company of good friends which taught me the problem is widespread. I was just one of the many women who were suffering. I could come out because my parents supported me, otherwise I would have continued to be a victim. Parents usually do not support daughters to move away from their husbands, despite of having been in grave danger.

The case for sex determination filed by me against the hospital, my husband and in-laws, and the doctor- cognizance has been taken in the lower court. The hospital and the doctor have appealed in higher courts against the cognizance. It is pending there since 2010.

The case filed by government against the hospital where sex determination was done- cognizance has been taken by lower court. The hospital in appeal to the higher court and the case is pending in the high court.

I also have a number of other outstanding cases awaiting justice, including domestic violence, dowry, case against my husband and in-laws for hacking my email, custody case- filed by my husband, case for divorce- filed by my husband. A detailed description of the cases can be found here.

The least I can do is to keep fighting and encourage other women to come out, so that I stop standing out as the odd one out. I want it to become a movement, let mothers say no to female foeticide. How long will the system further victimize us?

You can demand justice for Mitu and other women like her by signing the petition demanding world leaders act to hold the Indian government accountable to enforce laws prohibiting sex selection and providing protection and value to India’s girls. Sign and share the petition here.

It’s a Girl Documentary Inspires Vienna Symposium on Femicide

IMG 0182I first learned of the horrible phenomenon of femicide through data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Small Arms Survey report. We (the Academic Council on the United Nations-Vienna – ACUNS) had decided to do a side event at the UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Commission in April 2012. Our ACUNS team was looking for interesting speakers and possible films to screen for that event, when my wife noticed an article in the Independent (January 16), which mentioned the film “It’s A Girl”. We managed to track down the producer Andrew Brown. Actually, we thought the film was already completed and then entered into a continuing discussion over several months about whether we could screen the film at the UN Office in Vienna. In the end, we recommended that It’s Girl be premiered at the Vienna Human Rights Film Festival, which it was on December 4 to a sold out crowd.

But after previewing the documentary It’s a Girl, our ACUNS team felt compelled to do even more in the fight against femicide. So we organized a one-day symposium at the UN in Vienna on fighting femicide.

IMG 0244The symposium took place on November 26 on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This symposium could not have taken place without the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs; the Permanent Missions to the UN Office at Vienna of Austria, Argentina, Philippines, Thailand, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Small Arms Survey; and the Vienna NGO Committee on the Status of Women.

State representatives, social scientists, NGO representatives, statisticians, lawyers and feminist activists had the opportunity to speak about femicide, explain its meaning and causes, but also presented examples of best practice in fighting femicide.

The Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, opened the symposium with a video message and expressed her support for this endeavor.

Dr. Ranjana Kumari of the Centre for Social Research and Rita Banerji of the 50 Million Missing Campaign, two of the experts from India featured in It’s a Girl, were among the other presenters.

The symposium culminated with Dr. Eduardo Vetere, former Head of the UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, presenting the Vienna Declaration on Femicide. This document urges not only UN member states, but also UN organizations and civil society to join forces and take responsibility to put an end to femicide. The declaration was signed by the participants of the symposium as well as by Austria, Slovenia, the Philippines and Norway.

ACUNS Vienna intends to bring the issue of femicide, together with the supporting states and partners of the symposium, to the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place in New York from 4-15 March 2013 and will focus on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

IMG 0401The It’s a Girl documentary played a vital role in mobilizing our ACUNS team to organize the femicide symposium.  Now that it has been released with great fanfare, we look forward to screening this powerful film to additional groups interested in the topic.

For more information or if you wish to sign the declaration please contact  acuns.vienna.femicide@gmail.com.

 

The text of the Declaration is available to download here: Vienna Declaration on Femicide

pdfDownload full report on the Vienna Symposium(4.07 MB)

 


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Michael K. Platzer is a Liaison Officer for the Academic Council on the United Nations and Chair of the Vienna NGO Alliance for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.  He served for 34 years in the United Nations Secretariat in various capacities in the Office of the Secretary General, human rights, technical cooperation, HABITAT, UNDP, peacekeeping, and the Office on Drugs and Crime. 

 

 


The views expressed by guest contributors to the “It’s a Girl” blog represent the opinion of the individual author who contributes the content and should not be interpreted as being endorsed or approved by Shadowline Films. We feature these contributions to foster dialogue and exchange on gendercide and invite our readership to join the discussion.