Reel Causes: Because We Are Girls

*Content Warning*
 

Reel Causes is proud to present Because We Are Girls from Vancouver-based documentarian Baljit Sangra on June 6th, 2019, in support of Family Services of Greater Vancouver.

BALJIT SANGRA | 83 MINUTES

A conservative Indo-Canadian family in small-town British Columbia must come to terms with a devastating secret: three sisters were sexually abused by an older relative beginning in their childhood years. After remaining silent for nearly two and a half decades, the sisters decide to come forward—not only to protect other young relatives, but to set an example for their daughters as well.

Documentarian Baljit Sangra sensitively explores the impact of sexual abuse on a family, turning her empathetic lens on intimate moments in the family’s life. Full of nuance and layers, Because We Are Girls weaves poetically between past and present, darkness and light. We witness the emotional toll that pursuing justice through the courts and confronting their family for not protecting them as children takes on the sisters. But we also share in their happiness as they bond with their daughters and dance along to their favourite Bollywood songs.

As the film deftly intertwines touching home footage of the young, innocent girls they once were alongside uplifting scenes of the strong, empowered women they have become, the family’s unconditional love flows freely through it all.

Family Services of Greater Vancouver’s (FSGV) mission is to ensure children are nurtured, youth find optimism, adults feel empowered, and parents make choices that build strong families.

FSGV’s areas of impact

• Developing more inclusive communities
• Building stronger families
• Supporting youth in overcoming homelessness
• Ending violence against women, children, and seniors

FSGV is also home to the Vancouver Incest And Sexual Abuse Centre.

VISAC provides services to adult women who have experienced sexual abuse and/or childhood physical abuse.

VISAC also provides Child and Family Counselling comprising short term crisis intervention and long term therapy for children and youth who have experienced sexual abuse/trauma or sexual exploitation. Services are also available to siblings and non-offending parents/caregivers.