Girls will ‘Rise Up’ with First Lady Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, Andra Day, Isha Sesay and CNN Films for October
Global Broadcasts of ‘We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate
Girls Around the World’ for the International Day of the Girl Begin Oct. 11
CNN Films is producing a new film about girls overcoming incredible challenges to achieve their educations and change their own lives, with contributions from First Lady Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and CNN journalist Isha Sesay. Singer Andra Day’s motivational anthem, ‘Rise Up’ will serve as the theme for the film. The Documentary Group, which produced CNN Films’ first co-production, ‘Girl Rising,’ also produced this special one-hour film.
We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World featuring Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and Isha Sesay will premiere on CNN International on the International Day of the Girl during primetime in Asia, Europe, and Africa on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm. All times Eastern.
The CNN/U.S. premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 9:00pm will simulcast on CNN International; We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World will encore Thursday, Oct. 13 at 12:00am. The film will premiere on HLN on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 12:00pm. All times Eastern. The film will premiere on CNN en Español on Saturday, Nov. 5, viewers are asked to check local listings for exact airtimes.
Around the world, more than 62 million girls are not in school, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As girls grow into adolescence, cultural and familial pressures often make it harder for them to stay in school, though educating women correlates to lower rates of infant mortality, increased GDP, and greater economic security for families.
“We are honored to have the contributions of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, Andra Day, and our own Isha Sesay, for this inspirational film,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. “These dynamic and accomplished women, each long-committed to the transformative nature of girls’ empowerment, amplify incredible stories of success despite challenges. We are delighted to share this hopeful film with our global audience.”
Sesay, a native of Sierra Leone, who has passionately covered Africa and issues related to women and girls on the continent throughout her career, guides viewers of this poignant film through a moving and motivational journey. In Marrakech, Sesay, the First Lady, Meryl Streep, and Freida Pinto met with dozens of adolescent Moroccan girls who shared their stories and their dreams. In Liberia, Sesay, Pinto, and Mrs. Obama met with several girls who told their extraordinary stories, and later, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf surprised a group of impressive young women who are motivating each other to stay in school.
A dynamic interactive section with additional resources about the topics explored in the film, including content about girls’ education around the world written by First Lady Michelle Obama, Freida Pinto, and Isha Sesay will be linked to www.CNN.com/Impact and www.CNN.com/CNNFilms.
In 2013, ‘Girl Rising’ explored girls’ experiences in nine countries. For that film, Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto, among others, voiced the stories of girls pushing themselves past limits to achieve their educations.
In addition to the global broadcasts, We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World featuring Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and Isha Sesay will also stream via CNNgo via desktop (www.CNN.com/go), iPad, AppleTV, Amazon Fire, and across CNN’s mobile platforms. The film will be available on demand beginning Thursday, Oct. 13, via cable and satellite systems and CNNgo for subscribers.
We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World featuring Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and Isha Sesay is directed by Tony Gerber. The film is produced by Martha Adams, Beth Osisek, and Gerber of The Documentary Group. Courtney Sexton, vice president of content development for CNN Films, is supervising producer. The executive producers for this film are Amy Entelis of CNN Worldwide and Tom Yellin of The Documentary Group and Girl Rising.
IMAGES http://bit.ly/2cSdTN6 (additional images available upon request)
About CNN Films
CNN Films produces and acquires documentary feature films for theatrical exhibition and distribution across CNN’s multiple platforms. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, oversees the strategy for CNN Films; Courtney Sexton, vice president of content development for CNN Films works day-to-day with filmmakers to oversee projects. For more information about CNN Films, please visit www.cnn.com/CNNFilms and follow @CNNFilms via Twitter.
About CNN
CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable TV news organization in the United States. Internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 320 million households abroad; and CNN Digital is a top network for online news, mobile news and social media. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.
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