Free screening: ‘The Girl Who Knew Too Much’

When:
November 29, 2012 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
2012-11-29T18:00:00-08:00
2012-11-29T20:00:00-08:00
Where:
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106
USA

November 29, 2012 at 6 pm — Free screening of ‘The Girl Who Knew Too Much’ (30 minute rough cut) by West Seattle filmaker Amy Benson, with panel discussion following.

WHERE: West Seattle’s Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW)
WHEN: Thursday, November 29, 2012, 6 pm-8 pm (Panel discussion following)

ABOUT THE FILM
The Girl Who Knew Too Much, by Seattle filmmaker Amy Benson, is an independent feature documentary film currently nearing the end of production, for a Fall 2013 release. TGWKTM investigates the life and
untimely death of a girl in Nepal. In 2008, Benson was contracted to produce a promo piece on an NGO that gives scholarships to poor girls in Nepal. The ‘star’ was Shanta Darnal, a charismatic and fiercely
intelligent 15- year-old girl from the deep hinterlands, of Untouchable caste, who promised (and Benson believed her when she said) she would become a doctor, return to her village, and teach the girls and women there how not to have so many kids.

Shanta had hit the globalization jackpot, and she seemed to Benson to be the very avatar of hope for ending global poverty.

But a year after the filmmaker left Nepal, as she was preparing to return for a second round of filming, she learned Shanta had hanged herself. “I was devastated, and then was utterly shocked to learn that in the last 10 years, suicide has become the #1 cause of death among girls and women of childbearing age in Nepal,” Benson says. This film investigates why. Why did Shanta forsake what everyone assumed was a ‘golden opportunity’? In The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Benson investigates why is suicide becoming the newest epidemic in Nepal? What went wrong?

“This is a film about the big forces of globalization, and how they play out in the lives of the most vulnerable people,” Benson says. “We were granted unusually intimate access to our subjects—including
Shanta, both before and after Shanta’s death.”

Amy Benson gave up a rewarding 10-year career as a teacher because she fell even more in love with documentary filmmaking. She is devoted to telling complicated stories which reflect the universal,
by illuminating the personal. This documentary is intensely personal for Amy Benson.

“Apart from giving birth to my son, Shanta’s death has been the most transformative experience of my life. It is a terribly difficult story to tell, emotionally and logistically.” Benson says. “I am making this film because I believe Shanta wanted her story told. I am making this film because I think it can inform how we in the West try to help fight poverty in the developing world.”

November 29th screening’s panelists include:
Rita Meher: filmmaker, Founder and executive director of Trasveer (Seattle’s South Asian Film Festival) as well as the Aaina Festival Director (Seattle’s South Asian Women’s Festival)

Ada Williams Prince has worked with refugees since 1994 beginning in Nepal with Bhutanese refugees. She is currently the Policy and Advocacy Director at One America.

Jane Barry: is a women’s rights and international development specialist, author and principal at Linksbridge

MORE INFO
The Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is hosting this event. Off street parking usually available. Address is 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106.

This film has been supported in part by an Individual Artist Projects grant from 4Culture and a CityArtist grant from the City of Seattle.

2 Replies to "Free screening: 'The Girl Who Knew Too Much' "

  • Scott Squire November 27, 2012 (4:19 pm)

    Thanks WSB for the listing.

    For more info on the project, please have a look at the film’s website: http://girlworldproject.org
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GirlWhoKnewTooMuch
    Kickstarter: http://kck.st/10r6NCY

    Thank you for looking! Happy Giving Tuesday! I hope to meet a bunch of WSB readers on Tuesday.

    –Scott Squire (one of the filmmakers)

    • WSB November 27, 2012 (4:37 pm)

      We’ll be writing about the Kickstarter either tonight or tomorrow. I know you’ve had a blitz of other publicity so it’s always good to stretch it out anyway – TR

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