Girl Rising, a documentary film about the power of education and its effects on nine girls from developing countries, will be screened in Fayetteville on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at Razorback Cinema.
Shabana Kauser, a Fayetteville resident who caught a special television screening of the film about a month ago, was so inspired that she has been working to bring it to town ever since.
“CNN aired the film about a month ago,” Kauser said. “Some of the girls’ stories told in the documentary just stuck in my head. It was a real eye opener.”
Kauser reached out to Malco Theaters, who agreed to show the film if she could sell enough tickets to justify using one of the cinema’s smaller theaters. Kauser exceeded her goal this week, and Malco has now agreed to show the film in a larger theater to accommodate the demand.
The documentary follows 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 to help tell her story.
The film also features voice performances from Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, and others.
As of this week, a little over 180 tickets remain for the one-night-only screening. Tickets are $10, and must be purchased online (here). The film is set to begin at 7 p.m.
