By teaching a 10 class documentary workshop to a group of girls we hope to help them develop their own short personal documentaries. "Inspirations of Life" will follow the group of girls through the ups and downs of documentary production and will focus on 4 students. We will feature a group of African-American girls in Rochester, NY and then a similar group in Katete, Zambia. "Inspirations of Life" will feature video portraits of two of the students from each group integrated with their own footage.

Transformative Media seeks to empower marginalized youth through the development of their own short films. Their work is shown to their community and their voices are heard. Our film will portray two groups as they raise their voices; LadiesROC in Rochester, NY and the students of Tikondane in Katete, Zambia.

Violence, poor educational opportunities, teen pregnancy, and HIV & AIDS, are a few of the calamities plaguing the African Diaspora domestically and internationally. Yet many youth, when faced with these misfortunes do not succumb to oppression and fear, instead they rise to the challenge. By following four courageous girls through personal documentaries, I hope to examine their resilience and use their stories as an inspirational narrative to help others along their journey through life.