Where We’ll Be
Current mood: accomplished

We're gonna be attending several screenings in the next couple weeks after a bit of a lull, so be sure to come out and see us! First of all, Shane is going to Chicago to open the CineYouth Film Festival on June 21. And then we'll both be at the Temescal Outdoor Cinema in Oakland for a FREE outdoor screening with music on June 26. And then finally Arne will hit Albany NY the weekend of June 28 for a screening and discussion at The Linda.

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Check out this event: Girls Rock! Continues after March 7!
Current mood: adventurous

Hosted By: Girls Rock!
When: Friday Mar 7 and beyond, 2008
at all times
Where: Everywhere
Near You
Your hometown, United States
Description:
Girls Rock!

Click Here To View Event

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Girls Rock Guitar Contest!
Current mood: enthralled
Category: Music

For all you budding rockers out there, Fender® has generously sponsored the giveaway of a few special, limited edition "Girls Rock!" emblazoned Fender® American Standard Stratocaster® in Olympic White. That's right, you're not dreaming. Top of the line Strats®. You won't be able to buy them, they're available only during the movie opening!

You can enter by going here:

http://www.girlsrockmovie.com/special/contest

To increase your chances of winning, if you are in Chicago, Portland, Seattle or New York, you can also win a guitar by going to the theaters showing "Girls Rock!" on opening weekend, March 7. Those theaters--the Angelika in NY, Music Box in Chicago, Cinema 21 in Portland and SIFF Cinema in Seattle--are each giving away a guitar exclusively to folks coming by their theaters March 7-9.

If you'd like to help us get the word out about the movie, read below...and post this in other places if you like!

"GIRLS ROCK!" OPENS NATIONWIDE MARCH 7
NY, LA, San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago, Portland and Seattle on Opening Weekend.

THE MOVIE (rated PG)

At Rock 'n' Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that it's OK to sweat like a pig, scream like a banshee, wail on their instruments with complete and utter abandon, and that "it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are." They are taught by indie rock chicks such as Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of just one week, all the bands perform songs they've written with their new bandmates for over 700 people. "Girls Rock!" follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed by death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction and gang activity; Palace, whose heavy metal sneer belies her seven years, and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi. What happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed and pressured to conform is truly revolutionary.

THE TRAILER

http://www.girlsrockmovie.com/special/trailer

THE FILMMAKERS

"Girls Rock!" is truly a labor of love. Shane King and Arne Johnson are Portland kids who grew up and relocated to the Bay Area, where they found a home and support amongst the great documentary filmmaking community there. They've mortgaged houses and cashed out retirements to finish their first film, about a group of very courageous girls, while other folks have donated time and finances.

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Opening weekend will be crucial in the process of getting the word out about the camp's important work with girls. Every person who comes on March 7-9 will multiply exponentially the number of daughters, moms, dads, brothers and friends who get to see it. Movie theaters in smaller towns, where girls don't have as much access to alternatives, will only program "Girls Rock!' if they see it bringing in audiences on opening weekend. So please go yourself, bring friends, and help get out the word! Here are some tangible steps you can take:

*Take a group. Bring your class or workplace or other group. If you get a group of over 25 people, you'll get discounted tickets for everyone, and movie and camp schwag. Contact us at info@girlsrockmovie.com for more info.

*Spread the news. Tell all your friends in our March 7 cities—Seattle, San Francisco, Berkeley, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and New York—to go see "Girls Rock!" March 7-9. Pass along this email.

*Post on mailing lists. Put this email or your own pitch on all the news groups, mailing lists, newsletters, blogs, social networking sites and anything else you belong to on the web.

*Sign up on our website at www.girlsrockmovie.com and blog your thoughts about women, girls, music, culture. Help us build a community that will impact beyond the film!

*Put a poster up in your business. Email us your snail mail at info@girlsrockmovie.com and we'll send you one. They're big and movie-sized (like you'd see at a theater) and look fantastic.

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Girls Rock is Nigh!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Hello Rockers,

Sorry it's been so long since our last missive, it's been a strange mixture of quiet news and lotsa busy. But things are really picking up now that we're getting closer to March, and there's much to report.

Firstly, some of you may already know this, but our trailer has been playing in front of Juno in a number of theaters. Since Juno has turned out to be a big indie hit about a whip-smart teen girl (who also rocks the guitar), we've been getting a fair amount of emails from folks saying the trailer actually made them cry! Very cool...

Also, we decided to submit our film to the ratings board (very rare for a documentary), because it's gonna be such a great experience for kids. Though we've heard of some strange things coming from the ratings board (we fretted about whether the band name Bikini Kill was too provocative), we got what we were hoping for, a PG! It's perfect, because after all we really want parents to go with their daughters...

We've been finalizing our long lead (magazine) press too, and it's looking good. Be sure to look for a big feature in the March issue of Venus Magazine about the movie, a review in Bust Magazine, a Culture Pick in Marie Claire, and more fun stuff...We've also had a broadcast offer on "Girls Rock!" which we're considering...

Our website has undergone a bit of a transformation, though there's still lots of great content by girls and women on there. There's just a bunch more information about the film, our new trailer, ways to get involved, etc. Check it out at www.girlsrockmovie.com.

Lastly, we've been hearing from a lot of people that they want to bring their class/workplace/band, etc to the movie, and so we're putting together a Girls Rock! Band Member program. If you bring 25 or more people to a screening at one of the opening weekend cities (NY, LA, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Berkeley), you'll get substantially discounted tickets, a nice schwag bag of t-shirts, posters, stickers, discussion guide and such-like. We'll also add you to our Band Member page with a big thanks! For info and to get a group package, please contact us at info@girlsrockmovie.com.

With a squealing guitar,

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Girsl Rock Gets All Theatrical
Current mood: excited
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Hey Rockers,

Well, all of the many (many many many) threads that come together to make a theatrical run happen are starting to twine themselves into something resembling a sturdy, usable rope. The movie doesn't even open for 3 1/2 months, but it seems to have already begun. Preparing press packets, making new posters, having theatrical trailer done, doing film prints and all the other stuff really gives you a feeling that this is really going to happen!

Speaking of that, we have a new trailer that's going to show in actual theaters! But you can check it out here before anyone else...

Click here for the higher resolution but slower download (highly recommended if you have a good internet connection):

High Quality Girls Rock! Trailer

Quicker Download of Girls Rock! Trailer

We're really happy with it. It's weird after all these years of making trailers (sometimes it seemed like we were putting more work into that than our movie!), but it's really great to see someone else's take on our film.

It's also been incredible to see what "Girls Rock!" looks like on film with a 5.1 surround mix...It's going to be like seeing the movie all over again...especially since the film lab people discovered, much to our embarrassment that we'd misspelled Portland not once, but two times! You might think it was a simple process to fix a misspelling, but you'd be wrong...

We've recently set up one of these new "pages" they have on Facebook, so be sure and check it out and become a fan if you're on Facebook!

Also, we're going to be doing all kinds of shows and street teams and things to get ready for the film opening, with free shirts and movie tickets and other special musical gifts being given out to volunteers who join the effort. If you're interested, and especially if you live in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco or Berkeley, you can click here to sign up, or if you're not in one of those cities, you can request a screening in your town at that same page.

The Camp and it's affiliates in the Girls Rock Camp Alliance have really been gearing up for the movie, and also putting on some amazing shows themselves. Be sure to check out the 50 Shows in 50 States Benefits if there's one in your town!

Heading down the home stretch!

Arne and Shane

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Girls Rock Shivers Enthusiastically
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Lotsa good stuff happening, lotsa work and more festivals...Firstly, the best
news of all:

We're now booked in seven cities for our opening on March 7! Many of these are
very prestigious, and we're a little overwhelmed at how many theaters are
coming on board...If you don't live in one of these locations, don't worry,
we're rolling out everywhere eventually! If you'd like to increase the chances
of Girls Rock! coming to your town, put your zip code in the screening request
box (there's a map image on it) at http://www.zinester.com/lr/1026686/10111701. This is just our
opening roster:

New York - Angelika Film Center

Los Angeles - NuArt Theatre

Portland - Cinema 21

Seattle - SIFF Cinema

San Francisco - Either the Embarcadero or The Bridge

Berkeley - Shattuck Cinemas

Chicago - Music Box Theater

Also, I (Arne) was in Iceland for the Reykjavik International Film Festival,
and it was amazing. We sold out the first screening, and a bunch of cousins I
just met for the first time came to the second screening. The reception was
great. During the Q&A several women let me know very clearly that the girls in
the movie are not confronting an American phenomenon, that they could relate.
This made me happy, of course, that they could relate to our film, but also
sad. I had hoped in some ways that women here would say things like "yes, your
movie was fun but I didn't get all this stuff about the hardship of being a
girl". The tentacles reach far.

Mostly this has been a great experience, and we even got great press, though I
can't be sure since it's in Icelandic!

(http://www.zinester.com/lr/1026685/10111701)

This woman says our movie was the most important chick flick she's ever seen!
(http://www.zinester.com/lr/1026684/10111701)

We're winding up our festival schedule, but there will be a few more between
now and March. Be sure to check our website for an updated schedule.

From the whirlwind,

Arne and Shane

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Girls Rock is Very International
Current mood: accomplished

Hello Girls Rock fans!

Well, this has been a very news-full and exciting month! We're starting to put the pieces in place for the big theatrical opening, which is now locked in at March 7. We've already booked some of the theaters, and it looks like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland will be the cities for our opening weekend. In the meantime, you can see Girls Rock! at these fine festivals, many of which have just been added:

Nevada City Film Festival, California - August 16-19 (we'll be there!)

Sound Unseen, Minneapolis, Minnesota - August 22-26

Milwaukee International Film Festival, Wisconsin - September 20-30

Helsinki International Film Festival, Helsinki, Finland - September 20-30

Montreal Pop, Canada - October 3-7

Copenhagen Gay And Lesbian Film Festival, Denmark - October 19-28

Gijon International Film Festival, Spain - Nov. 22-Dec. 1

Also, we're gonna be in an ABC News Nightline show about alternative summer camps that airs this Wednesday (August 8), so be sure to tune in. They're using some of our footage and mentioning a little bit about the film!

We're also excited to announce the release of a new CD by Blubird, Una Rose and Katie Alto's band. They're both in the movie, and now at the ripe old age of 13 they've released their debut. You can check out samples and buy the CD at their really cool website.

Our website continues to get great traffic, and I just want to urge you again to contribute your thoughts there, as it's building up to be a great body of writing about rock, social issues and personal diaries about the struggle of being a girl in our current culture. Newsletter subscribers can skip the formal process and become full fledged members by emailing info@girlsrockmovie.com and putting "Girls Rock Site" in the subject and your requested login name in the body.

Be sure to become our myspace friend at myspace.com/girlsrockmovie too, as we've got music by the girls there and other cool stuff.

Also, our shirts are dwindling, especially the kids sizes, so get yer rockin' tees soon at our online store.

Anyway, looking forward to every screening, we're still totally in awe that this is happening at all. Thanks for your support!

Arne and Shane

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Seattle Was Rocked!
Current mood: accomplished

Well, from the sold out screenings to the amazing concert the girls put on to the awesome reviews, it was an amazing weekend at the Seattle International Film Festival. I'm still on the road, so I don't have much time to blog and tell you the whole story, but will do more later. In the mean time, read Laura's insider view in the blog "Seattle, WA" on our website (http://girlsrockmovie.com) and check out these links:

Top Rated and Featured in the Seattle Times!

The Stranger Recommends!

This Story Was on the Seattle PI front page!

Stranger Blog, read the cool comments!

Harp Magazine Covers the concert

Anyway, that's just a taste!

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Girls Rock From Canada to Seattle
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Wow, what a week! After all this waiting and wondering and editing and fretting and nervousness, our World Premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto was a wonderful success! The audiences really responded well, and we got nothing but good reviews. People coming up to us on the street and thanking us, that sort of thing. Was really great to finally sit down with a large group of people who didn't know us or the camp or anything, and watch them laugh and gasp and whoop at the film. One of the coolest things was how much of the audience for our first screening were mothers (and dads) and their 8-13 year old daughters. We've been consistently surprised at how much younger girls in the 7-9 year old range enjoy the movie in our smaller screenings, and seeing the family crowd show up was very gratifying.

If you'd like to feel like you were there, you can check out our Q&A here (as well as a nice review!).

We also got a very cool mention in Variety!

Now, we're getting ready for our even bigger U.S. Premiere at the Seattle international Film Festival over Memorial Day Weekend! Not only will our premiere be at the very cauldron of musical movements that influenced the Rock Camp, but all four of the girls we focused on in the movie will be there! Plus, a bunch of camp staff, other alumni and the extended camp family. It was looking to be so festive, we decided to have a big party/concert to celebrate, and thus was born the third edition of Girls Rock Fest.

Our two screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival will be May 25 at 7pm and May 27 at 1:30pm, go to www.seattlefilm.org to buy your tickets!

In honor of the US Premiere of "Girls Rock!", this Girls Rock Fest will feature girls from the movie rocking it live, and other bands with women. See the 10-year-old Amelia's band King belt out their anthem "We Will Destroy our Destination" and Blubird (12-year-old duo) sing the ineffable line "Bush is such an idiot, why won't he sign the Kyoto Treaty!" alongside upcoming bands like Raining Jane. Most importantly, the all-ages show will also feature a music experimentation area run by the camp, where girls will be encouraged to try out guitars, effect pedals and other fun noise. It'll be like a mini-rock camp! They will also be encouraged to come on stage and try out the drums between bands. alot of this equipment, along with a guitar to be raffled, will be donated by the great folks at Fender. There will be special surprise appearances we're not ready to announce yet.

You can see how it exciting (and youthful!) it was when we did a similar event in San Francisco:

http://www.girlsrockmovie.com/assets/GirlsRockFest.mov

The Initial Lineup:

Rock Camp House Band (featuring 8-year-old Palace's scathing "San Francisco Sucks Sometimes" and other treats)

King

Blubird

Raining Jane

Diamond Cut Diamond

May 26 @  Chop Suey

1325 E. Madison

http://www.chopsuey.com

Admission: $10 (or more, it's a benefit!)

Doors 1:30pm

Show 2pm-5:30pm

Tix are available on www.ticketweb.com

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Girls Rock Going to Seattle!
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

So, we're now finally allowed to announce our next big festival, and we're having our U.S. Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival!!! We had several big festivals interested in that U.S. Premiere, but we (or really, or wonderful distributor Ken at Shadow) are planning on releasing the film in the NW early in the process, so Seattle (aside from being a great festival) was the perfect choice. We were so happy when they selected us, especially since Seattle/Olympia was one of the primary birthplaces of the Riot Grrrl movement and other amazing empowered rockers like Kim Gordon! Most of the girls will be there, and there'll be a big Girls Rock Fest concert and event, so if you live anywhere in the area don't miss it! We don't know our exact screening times/dates, but it will be somewhere on the Memorial Day weekend (May 25-28).

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