Amina in Afghanistan, Sokha in Cambodia, Wadley in Haiti, Yasmin in Egypt: These four, and five more equally remarkable girls tell stories heartrending and powerful in Girl Rising a revolutionary film from Academy Award-nominated director Richard Robbins. Although voiced by an incredible group of actresses (Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchet, Anne Hathaway, Selena Gomez and more) with original music from Academy Award-winner Rachel Portman and Grammy Award- winner Lorne Balfe, the girls themselves are the stars.

Robbins came to Sarofsky with a challenge: To give face and force to the message that education changes everything for girls in the developing world, Robbins wanted to present each girl’s story as a chapter in the film. But he needed a beautiful opening and transitions to stitch the stories together. He also needed to find a way to present facts and numbers that add meaning and context to the film, without disrupting its flow. We are thrilled that Robbins came to us for creative solutions.

After lengthy discussions and numerous script revisions,  Executive Creative Director Erin Sarofsky developed a series of scenarios that met every objective. She worked with a large cast of young girls to visually articulate the scripts. For the opening, a group of girls draw, laugh and interact in a sundrenched prairie as an animation of a beautiful school sprouts up from the earth behind them. For the interstitials, the girls present important statistical information in additional playful, and filmic ways. A few examples: An illustrated canvas with openings for faces stretches out to show the roles girls in undeveloped countries have to fill at a very young age. Following this, the girls pass oversized books that open to reveal shocking numbers, and poster boards with more jolting facts.

Liam Neeson’s voice-over was the finishing touch, adding depth and resonance.