Girl Rising
Sierra Leone Chapter
2013 • CNN Films
Animated short film
Directed by Richard E. Robbins
We directed and animated a short film for Girl Rising, a feature documentary by Richard E. Robbins that highlights the stories of nine girls around the world.
For the Sierra Leone chapter, Jenny traveled to Freetown with Robbins and producer Gina Nemirofsky to meet and film 16-year-old Mariama. Back in L.A., our team hand-traced over 4,000 stills to create animated sequences that brought to life a story written by acclaimed author Aminatta Forna and narrated by Selena Gomez.
Meet Mariama: a 16-year-old born during civil war, now hosting her own teen radio show. She loves science, texting, and hopes to make change in her community.
Girl Rising was released theatrically by Gathr and Regal Cinemas, and later aired on CNN. Each girl’s segment was written by a female author from her home country, blending documentary, animation, and visual poetry.
For more information visit GirlRising.com