For her ambitious debut, documentary filmmaker Maria Finitzo followed five adolescent girls for two years, resulting in this authentic portrait of young women at a pivotal point in their lives. Unlike the media, which depicts most girls of this age as passive, powerless, or overly sexualized, Five Girls focuses on the positive ways they adapt to challenges in their lives by understanding their choices, resisting pervasive cultural messages, and believing in their own strengths. "The girls are all right" (People Magazine). Produced in association with Kartemquin Films.

Maria Finitzo---USA---2001---120 mins.