Girls Rock!

Girls Rock! is a 2007 documentary film that follows four 8-18-year-old girls at the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon, United States. At Rock and Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that "it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are." The girls have a week to select a band, an instrument they may have never played before, and write a song. In between, they are taught by indie rock stars such as Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of the week, all the bands perform a concert for over 700 people. The film follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed with death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction, homelessness and gang activity; and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi. The film ultimately explores what happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed, and pressured to conform.