Girl Power Film // Impressions Gallery

 

As a member of new focus, we get the opportunities to develop projects that relate to the current exhibition at Impressions Gallery. The short film Girl Power has been inspired by the photographic series 'Being Inbetween' by Carolyn Mendelsohn. Carolyn's series 'Being Inbetween' is a collection of portraits of girls aged between 10 and 12, exploring the complex transition between childhood and young adulthood. 

The film takes us behind the scenes of the photographs to meet three of the girls to hear their personal stories of hopes, fears and aspirations. The video introduces you to three inspirational girls; Alice, Amaira and Kiara.  

Meeting Alice

Each of the Girls we filmed was able to chose a location which they wanted to be filmed in. Alice aspires to become an author so picked Haworth as her filming location due to its link with the Brontë Sisters. I was on the filming team this day so was able to travel to Haworth and see Girl Power filming in progress. My role in the day was taking behind the scenes photos of Alice being filmed which a few can be seen below. Alice surprised us all with her confidence in front of the camera and listening to her story and the answers she gave to our questions were both beautiful and inspirational. Well Done Alice!

Editing over Zoom

Another part of the film consisted of Carolyn talking about her work and the process of meeting the girls. Although I didn't film this, I was part of the editing process of this section of the film. Editing over zoom meetings brings its own challenges however, we managed to edit the footage down into a concise summary of the work. I edited the film with Jennifer and Sarah. First we watched the film, working out bits that can be cut and essential clips that needed to be left in. Once we had done this, we needed to work out where in the film we could layover the images of the girls and where we needed to fill in space with photographs of the exhibition. A couple of hours passed and the editing was complete. 

Online exhibition opening and the launch of Girl Power 

Carolyns Exhibition launch was online, and it was also a showcase of our Girl Power Film to the public. The launch was on YouTube and was a great success! 

To view the full exhibition online, click here.

To watch Girl Power, the short film by New Focus, click here.

Girl Power is funded by @bradfordmdc @bradford_unesco and @bradford_2025  as part of their #MakeFilm programme, and supported by @aceagrams

 

Special thanks to Carolyn for introducing us to these amazing girls. #Bradford2025 #BeingInBetween