OneGirl is a documentary feature where we follow for one day four young girls, each living in a different country but awoken by the same dawn in the same meridian: South Sudan, Romania, Palestine, Finland. Our girls are so dissimilar and yet alike in their behaviours, intentions, desires, and dreams.
With their innocence and spontaneity, children can show us our differences and similarities, portraying their inner beauty and sometimes their tragedy. They teach us to be more sympathetic with “others” and give us a better understanding of our world.
The documentary explores the challenges teenage girls face: despite last years’ progress, inequality is still a big issue. We want to tell their stories through an ordinary day.
Each moment millions of people are living their lives in completely different ways. In the Western world, the right to study, get a job, and get married to the person we love is considered 'normal'; these things. While watching a short documentary for the World Food Programme, I was touched by an interview with a Tanzanian boy who had to walk two hours to go to school. He could not concentrate during the lessons because he was starving. What we call "normal" in the Western world, like going to school, having a job and getting married, is not what happens in other parts of the world or at least not as we think it should.
In the cosiness of our Western world, we give everything for granted and think that the world is just as we know it. We easily forget how lucky we are that we can choose our destiny, while many people, especially women, are not given this possibility at all, and they must overcome considerable obstacles to have a decent life. For me, showing one single day in the lives of a few young girls was the most straightforward and immediate way to investigate this.
Goethe once said: 'One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste'.
The film also wants to celebrate the magic of everyday little things. In a world where superheroes and tragedies seem to be the only things to engage the audience, going back to the simple moments was a felt statement.
