Over five years, acclaimed filmmaker Andrea Dorfman follows 160 girls from Meru, all victims of sexual violence who had received treatment at the Tumaini Girls’ Rescue Centre in Eastern Kenya. On a brave journey toward meaningful equality worldwide, The Girls of Meru tells the story of an international team led by Tumaini Centre head Mercy Chidi Baidoo and Canadian human rights lawyer Fiona Sampson in collaboration with their lawyers from Canada, Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. They build a case and pursue an unheard of legal tactic: challenging the Kenyan police to protect girls against sexual violence. Together they create legal history.
“The Girls of Meru is a profound depiction of the fight for human rights, in this case, the rights of girl children, to live freely without the reality and threat of sexual violence. This film poses a challenge to everyone in the world to stand and protect the rights of the most vulnerable in our midst.”
— Naa Afua Dadesen Cooper, Ph.D.
2018 Halifax Poet Laureate
The National Film Board of Canada
presents the world premiere of
The Girls of Meru
A film by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Andrea Dorfman
at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival
Sunday, September 16, 1:30 p.m.
Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane, Theatre 4
5657 Spring Garden Rd, Halifax
Runtime: 88 minutes
Filmmaker in attendance
A Q&A will follow the screening
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