Last updated on September 22nd, 2017 at 10:48 pm

Despite all the talk about equality between the sexes, filmmaking and other forms of media production is often seen as a masculine pursuit. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any extra attention to Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy Award for Best Director. Many, women often find themselves without the confidence to speak out and let themselves be heard. Good thing that some won’t let things stay the same.

Enter Reel Grrls, a Seattle-based non-profit group that aims to empower young women- through media production. Girls ages 9-19 participate in a variety of programs that teach them the ins-and-outs of film making. And it’s not just like any other filmmaking boot camp either. Many of the former participants went on to find their true calling behind and in front of the camera. Some even went on to become leaders in their communities.

If nothing else, participation helps young women (or should we say, grrls?) find it in them to stand up and be proud.“93% of our participants state that they feel more confident being a leader after participating in our program” says Karen Hirsch, Development Director for the Seattle-based non-profit group.

Karen explains, “Our mission is to cultivate voice and leadership in girls at a vulnerable age in their development.” She continues, explaining the difference between Reel Grrls and other similar programs. “What distinguishes our program is the high-level of support that our female mentors offer and the high level of commitment that we ask for in return”.

Several after-school, weekend, and day-camp programs are available; each with different goals, but all providing girls a real challenge. What makes them fascinating is that they are run purely by volunteers, many of whom are former participants of Reel Grrls programs themselves. The volunteers, called Mentors, come from all parts of the media industry. Most have had years of experience in their fields. In exchange for their services, they are provided with access to some Real Grrls resources.

The training the grrls get is quite varied. Courses in animation, screenwriting, music video production, video blogging, among many others are on offer. While this all sounds pretty neat, it’s not easy. They get to interact with other budding filmmakers and talented professionals but they also get a taste of all the gruntwork their chosen craft involves.

Karen says, “ Our participants don’t just drop into a computer lab after school — they develop lasting relationships with women filmmakers and learn skills that propel them to leadership roles in their community, college scholarships, and careers in the media industry.” Reel Grrls in a sense, doesn’t just doesn’t teach girls filmmaking- they teach them how live, and how to lead.

UPrinting is proud to feature Reel Grrls for its dedication to helping young women find it within themselves to not just speak up, but to be leaders as well. The non-profit orders its postcards from UPrinting and is also part of the printing company’s UCommunity Program as well. Karen opines,“[UPrinting] is a wonderful resource to have free, quality printing available to support our programs… Thank you for your support!”

Check out our custom printing services here.

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