This eye-opening selection of films celebrates the trials and triumphs of girls from different cultures and backgrounds.

Book Girl and Cabinet Girl
A sweet and tender story of friendship, jealousy and love. Book Girl and Cabinet Girl meet and become friends. But then Scissors Boy comes along and cuts them apart. (Jane Wu, USA 2010, 3.5 min)

Daughters
In rural China, a teenage girl faces a monumental life decision. When her mother becomes pregnant with a boy, Maple is forced into an arranged marriage. Unwilling to resign herself to this fate, she takes a dangerous path to freedom—but is she willing to pay the price? (Chloe Zhao, China/USA 2009, 9.5 min)

Chalk
This beautifully realized film follows two 13-year-old gymnasts competing for admittance to the national team. BAFTA-winning filmmaker Martina Amati eloquently captures the unspoken tension between friends who are also rivals. (Martina Amati, UK 2010, 18 min)

Dot
Multiple Oscar-winning studio Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit) has created the world's smallest stop-motion animated character. In this miniature escape adventure, Dot measures just 9mm tall and was animated using a microscope and tweezers. (Sumo Science, UK 2010, 2 min)

Little Miss Eyeflap
A fantastical and magical fable of a young woman caught between two cultures. Little Miss Eyeflap is sent to grandma's house wearing a cap with blinders, so she will not be enticed by distractions along the way. But everything is so beautiful! Magic butterflies, snow capped mountains, flowering meadows, and an earnest young lover in lederhosen. (Iram Haq, Norway 2009, 9 min)

Dust Kid
Waking up late on a cold winter’s afternoon, Eujin finds a small dust kid under her bed—a miniature version of herself sitting alone and dejected in the shadows. (Jung Yumi, South Korea 2009, 10 min)

I-Do-Air
A young girl is afraid to dive into the pool. Retreating to the locker room, she holds her breath and floats to a serene place inside her head. Later she sees two unexpected creatures swimming weightlessly under the water and takes a plunge into their magical world. (Martina Amati, UK 2009, 7.5 min)

Lightness
Sofia wants to be a movie director and constantly follows her mother and teen sister, Lola, around with a camera. While capturing her footage she makes some unexpected discoveries about Lola’s secret relationship to food. (Lucia Del Rio, Spain 2010, 16 min)


(Total running time 74 min, in various languages with subtitles) Recommended for ages 9–16.