ABOUT
OUR WHY
Black girls in the U.S. face staggering disparities:
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They are four times more likely to be arrested at school and five times more likely to face disciplinary transfers than their peers.
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60% experience sexual violence before adulthood.
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Suicide attempts among Black adolescents rose 73% from 2003 and 2017, with Black girls accounting for the largest share.
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Black girls are more likely than their white peers to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety but are less likely to receive mental health treatment.
With only 3% of Black women representing Hollywood storytellers, a scarcity of representation persists that perpetuates harmful stereotypes, contributes to these disparities, and leaves Black girls’ stories untold. At Black Girls Film Camp, we aim to change this by equipping young filmmakers with the tools, mentorship, and platforms to create films that challenge stereotypes, shift narratives, and inspire change.
BGFC Mission
BGFC Vision
We seek to close the representation gap with Black girls in media by cultivating the next generation of storytellers and amplifying their stories from "dream to screen to social impact."
We will create a world where there is an equitable representation of Black girls and women in media, and their stories drive narrative and policy change for social transformation.
OUR HOW
Curriculum - We create safe spaces for Black girls to build critical media literacy skills, construct their own narratives centering on Black girlhood, and share their stories through film with the world through an industry-standard curriculum.
Co-Creation - We implement an intergenerational co-creation model to develop the GIRL, document HER/THEIR story, disseminate HER/THEIR film, and deconstruct harmful narratives through co-created dialogic community spaces with universities, festivals, and organizations.
Collaboration - We partner with production studios, award-winning Black women filmmakers, festivals, and TV/Film industry influencers to provide an immersive experience in Hollywood, personalized coaching, and a creative community to support Black girls to develop their stories into films.
IN JUST 4 YEARS BGFC HAS...
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OUR PROGRAMS
OUR VALUES
OUR ANNUAL CAMP
Black Girls Film Camp (USA) provides a FREE, national, and hybrid 16-week experience (held once a year) where high school girls across the country pitch a story idea, and a final ten are selected to have their short film project produced by the program. TEN finalists are selected each year as the new cohort to direct and develop their own short films. The camp is an incubator for the ten girls and each of their films.
Participants receive free cameras and tech equipment, free software, their own professional production team of exemplary creatives (editor, production coach, cinematographer, and an alumni coach) contracted out by the camp, an all-expense paid weekend retreat in LA, and free workshops from award-winning filmmakers and Ph.D. scholars. Films created by the teen girls and their production teams are showcased during Black Girls Film Camp Premiere Weekend over the summer and at film festivals, colleges/universities, and community events worldwide.
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