The history of all times and of today especially, teaches that ... women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves. - Louise Otto

In the 60th year of Indian independence, Girls from Dharavi slums to private schools in Mumbai come together to express themselves through the medium of films.

Proudly presented by Adlabs, in association with Laadli- A Girl Child Campaign and Mam Movies, SHE Creates is a unique filmmaking event where 25 Girls from across the cross section of society, will be given filmmaking workshops. These films promise to give an interesting window into the world of teenage girls from different social and economic backgrounds.

Launching on August 22, the event will span a period of three weeks before a grand world premiere held at Metro Adlabs in the month of October 2007.

The organizers of SHE Creates hope to empower the young girls with this powerful medium of expression and set up a video unit by donating video cameras to the participating organizations. These workshops will train the girls to play the role of citizen journalists, where they can use the cameras to bring forth the problems of the society. Not only will this open new avenue for them, but also they will be able to train and teach their fellow students in this field.

The films made under SHE Creates will be shown in theatres across Mumbai. They will also find an international audience, as they will be sent to all the international film festivals.

SHE Creates is a part of the media advocacy effort under the Laadli campaign of the NGO, Population First. The campaign works to end the practice of sex selection, which is the selective elimination of girls in the womb itself. Mr. S.V. Sista, veteran adman and founder of Population First says, “We are working with the girls to understand their perspective and the issues they face in their lives. And what better medium than a film to express all this!” Resource persons from the NGO would conduct sessions on gender and girl child issues to give them a better understanding and orientation to these issues that would perhaps be reflected in the films they create.

Mam Movies is a media organization which attempts to create a platform which will support and nurture independent filmmakers who use media - the arts and technology - to inform, inspire and empower others to create positive action in the world. In one of many programs, MAM Movies creates an effort to consistently make inspiring films on NGO's and use media for social change.

SHE Creates is being supported by veteran actor, Anupam Kher, acclaimed filmmaker, Ashoke Pundit and actor, Deepti Naval.

“It’s an amazing concept...about time that such projects are done,” says Ms. Naval.

Mr. Pundit says, “The new generation is powerful. We cannot underestimate them in any way...look out...as I’m sure these kids are going to create something unbelievable.”

Mr. MadhuSudan Agrawal, co-founder of Mam Movies enthusiastically adds, “It’s not about what we will get at the end of this project. It’s about what we can really give.”

Over the past 6 weeks, the event has garnered a lot of support from many firms as corporates and international organizations raised their hands in support for the event. Adlabs, one of India’s largest multiplex chains and distribution houses, has jumped on board as the presenting sponsor for the event.

International women’s magazine Verve is an associate sponsor. Other media partners include: BIG FM as its radio partner, DNA YA as the newspaper partner, Digital Academy as knowledge partners and Indiwo as online partner.

For further information please visit: www.shecreates.org