Amazing Progress in 2012: Thank You!

posterAs the Shadowline Films team welcomes a new year, we can’t help but be excited and humbled by the success of It’s a Girl and response of the international community to this film. When we released It’s a Girl in September of 2012, our hope and desire was to educate and mobilize a movement to end gendercide in India and China. Your incredible support for the film and advocacy for those who share their stories have far exceeded our highest expectations, and we want to thank you for lending your voice to the growing movement demanding dignity and equality for the women of India and China.

In the few short months since It’s a Girl hit the world stage, over 400,000 people have joined the cause, with thousands more adding to that number every week! Nearly 1 million actions have been taken, ranging from signing petitions to donating to our partners working to combat gendercide in India and China on the frontlines. Our community on facebook and twitter has exploded, and you have brought the film to over 130 locations around the world so far, with another 100 possible screenings in development.

It’s a Girl has screened before high-level government officials and world leaders, including the British and European Parliaments. It has been a valuable tool for reputable universities and respected NGO’s around the world to engage everyone from students to influencers and leaders in the battle to end gendercide.

It’s a Girl has been acclaimed worldwide in articles, reviews and on radio and TV, including The IndependentEmirates Women Magazine, The Current on CBC Canada, NPR, and The New Internationalist to name a few. It has been featured and recognized at leading Human Rights Film Festivals like Amnesty International’s Reel Awareness Film Festival and the “this human world” human rights film festival in Vienna.

As director I was invited to give a TED talk in Mumbai, India, where I engaged 1000 influencers and leaders from the region about gendercide and was able to challenge them to lead the way to change.

But above all, we are most proud of the many of you who have responded to the call to action and become culture changers and activists in your own spheres of influence as a result of seeing It’s a Girl. Besides the ongoing dedication of organizations like Women’s Rights Without Frontiers and Invisible Girl Project, some people who have stepped up and taken action deserve special mention.

People like Deesh Sekhon, a wife and mother from Abbotsford, BC who, after seeing the trailer, launched GirlKind Foundation, which is advocating and educating for change in cultural beliefs and taking a stand against Gendercide in India. Deesh and GirlKind Foundation have become champions for the cause, holding screenings of It’s a Girl throughout Canada.

IMG 0182People like former UN diplomat Michael Platzer and his team, who, after seeing It’s a Girlorganized a one-day symposium at the UN in Vienna on fighting femicide (gendercide), where ambassadors, social scientists, NGO representatives, statisticians, lawyers and feminist activists had the opportunity to speak about gendercide, explain its meaning and causes, and present examples of best practice in fighting gendercide. The symposium culminated with the release of the Vienna Declaration on Femicide, a document urging UN member states, UN organizations and civil society to join forces and take responsibility to put an end to gendercide. The declaration was signed by the participants of the symposium as well as by Austria, Slovenia, the Philippines and Norway and plans are underway to bring it to the UN Commission on the Status of Women this March!

And people like Omékongo Dibinga – a rapper, trilingual poet, CNN contributor, motivational speaker, TV Talk Show Host and the Director of UPstander International who, inspired by the It’s a Girl trailer, decided to lend his voice to the cause by omekongowriting and recording a hip-hop song. Omékongo captured so well the inner conflict so many of us experience when learning about gendercide, that we decided to produce a music video of his song. We are so excited to be the first to share with you the It’s a Girl music video! Please take a minute right now to watch it and share with your friends.

Deesh, Michael, Omékongo and all of you who have joined them in the fight to end gendercide are the reason we made It’s a Girl. You have taken this film and run with it, and together, we are putting gendercide front and center on the world stage of human rights concerns.

As we embark on another year of fighting for the end of gendercide, we wanted to say thank you! Thank you on behalf of the millions of women in India and China who need our voice. Thank you on behalf of millions of girls, yet to be born, who will draw their first breath, and go on to fulfill their destiny because of you. We look forward to 2013 being a year that history will look back upon as a turning point in the battle to restore value and equality to the women of India and China.

It’s a Girl Inspires Music Video by Hip Hop Artist Omékongo Dibinga

omekongoWe are so excited to be the first to share with you the It’s a Girl music video!

After seeing just the film trailer, Omékongo Dibinga was inspired to lend his voice to help end gendercide. Omekongo – a rapper, trilingual poet, CNN contributor, motivational speaker and the Director of UPstander International – put pen to paper and wrote this amazing hip-hop song.

“I wrote this song because hip-hop is a global force. Yet too many hip-hop artists do not use their powerful skills and influence to speak on issues like these. I want to use my talent to make a positive change in this world.” – Omékongo.

After writing the lyrics, Dibinga shared them with the film’s director, Evan Grae Davis. “When Omékongo approached us with the lyrics to this rap song he had written, I was deeply moved with how he expressed his heart for the victims of gendercide around the world. I’m sure having two daughters of his own makes it personal. His words reflect a deep passion against the injustice of gendercide in a way we wanted to share, so we asked him if he would record the song!” Davis said.

Omékongo recruited Lindsay Samakow, a talented debut vocal artist, to provide the backdrop as he recorded his song titled after the film, “It’s a Girl.”

“I was so inspired when I heard the song for the first time,” says Davis, “that I wanted to produce the music video to bring it alive in a new dimension. We filmed Omékongo performing the song on the streets of New York City and in Central park with his two beautiful daughters and niece. We added in several clips from the documentary, and now have a music video that truly captures his heart for justice.” Davis concluded, “The result is a haunting and compelling expression of one man’s reaction to one of the greatest human rights issues of our time. If more people responded as Omékongo has, we could truly change the world!”

The music video is available on YouTube, and the song is available on iTunes. A press release is also available.

It’s a Girl Documentary Inspires Music Video by Hip Hop Artist Omékongo Dibinga

January 15, 2013 – Activist and rap artist Omékongo Dibinga joins forces with the production team behind the documentary “It’s a Girl” to release a new music video inspired by the film.

It’s a Girl, produced by Shadowline Films, is an American documentary film that tells the story of gendercide in India and China. After seeing just the film trailer in early 2012 Omékongo Dibinga  was inspired to lend his voice to the cause. Dibinga – a rapper, trilingual poet, CNN contributor, motivational speaker, TV Talk Show Host and the Director of UPstander International – put pen to paper and wrote a hip-hop song.  “I wrote this song because hip-hop is a global force,” says Omékongo, “yet too many hip-hop artists do not use their powerful skills and influence to speak on issues like these. I want to use my talent to make a positive change in this world.”

Every year, millions of young girls are killed, neglected, or abandoned simply because they are girls. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of this gendercide.

After writing the lyrics, Dibinga shared them with the film’s director, Evan Grae Davis. “When Omékongo approached us with the lyrics to this rap song he had written, I was deeply moved with how he expressed his heart for the victims of gendercide around the world. I’m sure having two daughters of his own makes it personal. His words reflect a deep passion against the injustice of gendercide in a way we wanted to share, so we asked him if he would record the song!” Davis said.

Omékongo recruited Lindsay Samakow, a talented debut vocal artist, to provide the backdrop as he recorded his song titled after the film, “It’s a Girl.”

“I was so inspired when I heard the song for the first time,” says Davis, “that I wanted to produce the music video to bring it alive in a new dimension. We filmed Omékongo performing the song on the streets of New York City and in Central park with his two beautiful daughters and niece. We added in several clips from the documentary, and now have a music video that truly captures his heart for justice.” Davis concluded, “The result is a haunting and compelling expression of one man’s reaction to one of the greatest human rights issues of our time. If more people responded as Omékongo has, we could truly change the world!”

The music video is available on YouTube, and the song is available on iTunes. “It’s a Girl” is currently on an international screening tour. To bring the film to your corner of the world, email screenings@itsagirlmovie.com.

Available Photos: (Click for high resolution versions)

About It’s a Girl

Shot on location in India and China, “It’s a Girl” reveals the genercide in India and China and why so little is being done to save girls and women.  The documentary tells the stories of abandoned and trafficked girls, of women who suffer extreme dowry-related violence, of brave mothers fighting to save their daughters’ lives, and of other mothers who would kill for a son. Global experts and grassroots activists put the stories in context and advocate different paths towards change, while collectively lamenting the lack of any truly effective action against this injustice. “It’s a Girl” is in the midst of its international screening tour. Learn more at www.itsagirlmovie.com.

About Omékongo Dibinga

Omékongo Dibinga is the UPstander. His life’s mission is to inspire all across the globe to take a stand when they witness an injustice, no matter how small or large. Omékongo is a motivational speaker, trilingual poet, CNN contributor, TV talk show host, and rapper. His Urban Music Award winning work has best been described by Nikki Giovanni as “outstanding, exciting, and new while being very old.” His book, From the Limbs of My Poetree was described by Essence Magazine as “a remarkable and insightful collection of exquisite poetry that touches sacred places within your spirit.” He was one of 5 international recipients out of 750,000 to win the first ever “CNN iReport Spirit Award.”

Delhi Gang Rape: “Eve-Teasing” Justification Trumps Justice

As India grieves the death of the young medical student who was brutally gang raped on a moving bus December 16th, 2012, a historic movement continues to develop demanding justice and action from the government. But leaders and legislators have come across as indifferent, unresponsive and out of touch with the reality of violence against women as thousands turn out to demonstrate and march in the streets of Delhi. “The incident has raised the issue of declining public confidence in the law and order machinery in the city,” a National Human Rights Commission statement said. “Especially, in its capacity to ensure safety of women as a number of such incidents have been reported in the national capital in the recent past.”

Groping and sexual harassment of women is often referred to as “eve-teasing” and is attributed to the natural response of men to the behavior of women.