In recognition of Women’s History Month, Busboys and Poets’ D.C. location recently hosted a free screening of the well-received 2013 film “Girls Rising.”
The March 5 screening was part of the restaurant’s monthly film series “Cinema for a Conscious Community,” which focuses on social justice, peace, art, music and community value.
Dubbed as 2013’s “most powerful film” by The Huffington Post, “Girls Rising” showcases a global campaign for girls’ education and empowerment. Using the power of storytelling, Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins uses his film platform to journey around the globe and witness the strength of the human spirit and the power of education.
Throughout the film, viewers get to know nine ordinary girls living in the developing world who confront tremendous challenges and overcome nearly impossible odds to pursue their dreams, as prize-winning authors put the girls’ remarkable stories into words.
“The issue of providing quality education for girls is already making enormous progress,” Robbins told The Huffington Post. “We’re just trying to fuel the fire. Spread the word. This is an issue where we actually understand the answer. So in some way the biggest obstacle to creating the change we all want is making people aware of the issue and getting them involved. Through screening the film, that’s happening not just here in the U.S., but around the world.”
The event is one of several being held around D.C. in commemoration of Women’s History Month:
Thursday, March 9 (6 p.m.) — The West End Library will host “Women’s History Month Heroines,” dedicated to the Celebration of Influential and Creative Women with items such as coloring sheets and books and activities for the youth.
Thursday, March 9 (7 p.m.) — The Southwest Library and C.R. Gibbs, an award-winning historian international lecturer, author and historian of the African Diaspora, will present “Hidden Heroes: African-Americans, NASA, and the Quest for the Final Frontier.”
Thursday, March 16 (4 p.m.) – The Shaw (Watha T. Daniel) Library will host an event with the Female Re-Enactors of Distinction (FREED), who will tell important stories of historic women.