Film transcript: Girl Power 10 minutes Produced by New Focus, Impressions Gallery’s young people’s collective
Kanwal – Hi, my name is Kanwal, I am part of New Focus, a group of young people who work with Impressions Gallery. Being Inbetween by Carolyn Mendelsohn is an exhibition that showcases ninety powerful portraits of girls aged between ten and twelve, who proudly pose for the camera and share their hopes, fears and aspirations for the future. We were so inspired by the girls’ stories, we wanted to meet some of the girls and find out more. So we’ve been on a journey around Bradford to meet Alice, Amaira and Kiara. Meet Alice, who choose to be filmed in Haworth outside a bookshop. Alice is an aspiring author, who has always been inspired by the Brontës. Alice - My name is Alice, I live in the Keighley part of Bradford. This portrait was taken when I was eleven years old, I am now thirteen. When I am an adult I want to be an author, and maybe I want to set up a business to help children who are in foster families or in care, or those who have a disability. My ambition is to help other children to make them feel that they are not alone. I have craniosynostosis, when I was a baby the bones in my head had already fused together. When I was six months old I had to have an operation and another when I was one. My wish is to visit the rainforest, I imagine it will be tropical and I would love the smell Kanwal – What do you think about being part of Being Inbetween? Alice – I think it’s, like, really cool and I’ve really enjoyed it, and it’s been fun. Kanwal – What did it feel like to have your portrait taken, were you excited or nervous? Alice – I was excited and I was nervous and it was a bit weird because I’ve never done anything like that. Kanwal – What do you think about your photograph and what it says about you? Alice – I think it shows that I’m strong and just because I’ve got a disability, it doesn’t make me different from anyone else.
I want to be an author, because I’d like to write stories and poems about children who are different. I want to work in a special school because I would just like to help children who are different from us and help them get through and let them know that they are not alone. Kanwal – Have you changed your mind in the last two years or do you still want the same job? Alice – Well last year I was thinking that I wanted to set up a business and help kids in care, but now I’m set on the special school. Kanwal – What are your hopes or fears for the future? Alice – My hopes are that we can all be treated the same no matter where we come from or our background, and my fear is that this won’t happen and we will just carry on discriminating people. Kanwal – So is there anything else you want to share, you want people to know about? Alice – Just to let people know that whatever you’re going through there is someone else out there who’s going through the same thing. Kanwal – Meet Amaira an aspiring lawyer who has a passion for anti-racism, who decided to be filmed outside the Bradford Crown Court, next to the contemporary leaf sculpture. Amaira – My name is Amaira, this portrait was taken when I was 12 years old I am now 14 years old. Kanwal – So what did it feel like to have your portrait taken? Amaira – Umm... I don’t know it made me feel like I was famous or something, like the paparazzi. Kanwal – So tell us about wanting to be a fairy, I know it was two years ago, but it was really nice when we read that. Amaira – [Laughter] Yeah umm... obviously a very old type of thing now I’m older, but becoming a fairy it was just a really big childhood dream just like to get fairy wings and fly, and leave the issues of the world, you know, escape. Kanwal – is that like, did you read something or is it specifically from a book? Amaira – Umm from, like, you know when you read the news and you see, like, issues it makes you really sad, so obviously, you want to just get away from that and wish the word was a different place sometimes.
Kanwal – Tell us about your passion for equality. Amaira – My passion for equality, it all started when I got, I became more awake to like the news and the issues around the world... like people experiencing racial attacks and inequality attacks, it’s not fair and I wish the world was different. My hopes for the future are that the world will change and begin to love other people’s differences, but my fears is that the world will become more segregated and that people will just get less of a voice. Kanwal – What do you think about your photograph and what it says about you? Amaira – Umm I guess, especially with the caption as well, I guess it just shows that other children my age that they have a voice and they can also speak out about the inequalities and the differences in the world. Kanwal – Meet Kiara who is an aspiring surgeon, who chose to be filmed in Bowling Park because she has a passion for the environment. Kiara - My name is Kiara I live in BD5. This portrait was taken when I was ten years old and I am now eleven almost twelve. My dream is to become a surgeon and I really dislike racism and all things like that. I am really passionate about our environment and how it’s being destroyed by people older than my generation. Kanwal – So what do you think about being part of Being Inbetween? Kiara - It’s a bit like, I like the fact that I’m, like, here, because it’s like... I get to kind of spread, like, a message and I get to be myself, I guess, and it’s really nerve wracking. I get nervous coming here because I’m a bit camera shy. Kanwal – Tell us what job you would like in the future, what inspired you to want to do this job? Kiara – When I’m older, when I’m an adult, I want to be a surgeon, because since I was little I wanted to be some kind of doctor, to like help people and things like that and I just want to carry on with that dream I guess. Kanwal – Why is anti-racism important to you? Kiara – Because... let’s just say I’ve experienced it so I know what it’s like and umm I just want it to, like, I want it to stop because I don’t really want anyone else to feel the same way I did. My hopes for the future is that, umm… the environment isn’t in like the state it is now, I hope it like, I hope it gets better, and one of my fears is, if like what if it doesn’t? Because then I won’t be able to live like a normal human being. Kanwal – How do you feel about your portrait being in an exhibition?
Kiara – I’m excited for it like, I like the fact, well, I like the fact that it’s boosted my confidence a little bit because I had to stand in front of a camera and I had to answer loads of questions and stuff like that and it’s like boosted my confidence, and just knowing that people are going to an exhibition to see my picture, just makes me feel like... I don’t know, happy about it.
Girl Power is funded by Bradford Council, Bradford UNESCO City of Film and Bradford 2025 as part of their Make Film programme, and supported by Arts Council England. © Impressions Gallery and New Focus 2021