00:00My name is Madeline Hunt Ehrlich and I grew up in a community of photographers and musicians
00:12and writers. I'm most interested in film and media that toes the line between documentary
00:20and fiction. I think that documentaries should be cinematic and I think that fiction films should
00:27have something true in them. Aesthetically I like to play with this idea that in film there's always
00:34illusions and there's always truth. As storytellers it's our job to go out and find stories that aren't
00:43being told, the voices that aren't amplified, and shines a light on those corners of the world. Amara
00:51is a young African-American, Muslim, teenage girl. Her family is very observant but one thing that's
01:01really beautiful is that Amara and her brother and sister are encouraged to pursue all kinds of really
01:09awesome extracurriculars, be active. Amara is an athlete. She is really into martial arts which I
01:17think is so cool and I think that her clarity in articulating those experiences and her drive is
01:25really exceptional for a young woman and it's useful for us to hear how one can be both so energized and
01:33sure of who you are and also have moments of insecurity and that's okay that you can have all those things at once.
01:39Growing up there weren't a lot of black women on TV or in movies in empowered positions.
01:47So to me this series is a really exciting opportunity to give a generation of teeny girls some of those stories and images.
01:56We might be talking about one specific girl and one specific story but hopefully many young women can see
02:04themselves and feel encouraged and feel less alone and feel inspired.
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