5 Girls

September 19, 2016 - 7:30 pm

Billy Wilder Theater

5 Girls (2001)

As its title suggests, producer-director Maria Finitzo follows five Chicago-area girls between the ages of 13 and 17 over the course of two years as they negotiate the ever-changing demands of school, work, friends, family and their own expectations for themselves and the future. From their various experiences, shaped by their diverse ethnic, economic, cultural and sexual identities, a potent portrait of contemporary girlhood emerges.

Digital Video, color, 113 min. DIR: Maria Finitzo.

Preceded by

Now We Live on Clifton (1974)

A precocious sister and brother reflect on the changes in their working-class neighborhood driven by the expansion of nearby DePaul University. More than a “child’s eye view” of gentrification, Now We Live on Clifton speaks to the deeply personal impact such policies have on the lives of residents.

16mm, color, 26 min. DIR: Jerry Blumenthal, Alphonse Blumenthal, Susan Delson, Sharon Karp, Peter Kuttner, Gordon Quinn, Richard Schmiechen.

Winnie Wright, Age 11 (1974)

Through scenes from the life of a seemingly typical white, working-class pre-teen—breakfast with dad just off the night shift, flipping through the Sears catalog, doing homework in front of the TV—we witness a family grappling with economic insecurity, white flight and overt racism as their neighborhood changes around them.

16mm, color, 26 min. DIR: Suzanne Davenport, Greg Grieco, Betsy Martens, Gordon Quinn, Teena Weeb.

Part of:

Kartemquin Films at 50

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5 Girls

5 Girls (2001)

Now We Live on Clifton (1974)

Winnie Wright, Age 11 (1974)

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