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Girls on the Wall

The teenage girls of Warrenville Prison get a shot at redemption in a most unlikely form: a musical based on their lives. As three fascinating girls write and stage their play, they're compelled to re-live their crimes, reclaim their humanity and take a first step toward breaking free of the prison system.

Meet WHITNEY (17)€š "the eyes and ears of Warrenville", and our unexpected heroine. Intimidating, self-isolating, and one of Warrenville's longest-term inmates, Whitney is infamous for a crime she won't talk about. Despite herself, she soon emerges as one of the most powerful storytellers in the group. Her writing introduces us to her charming, drug-addled father, a man whose mistakes paved the way to his daughter's heinous crime. As the performance approaches, Whitney's growing voice may lead both of them to confront the past and try to move forward.

ROSA (17) is a hot-tempered girl who taunts guards and inmates alike. Released from Warrenville, she returns weeks later after getting nearly killed in a knife fight. With a constant reminder of her temper carved into her throat, she is forced to grapple with the sexual abuse that is the source of her anger.

CHRISTINA (18) is a friendly, popular girl whose only crime is running away. Drawn into street life by her mother's crack habit, she's spent most of her life in jails and foster placements. When she gets a chance for adoption by a wealthy Christian family, she jumps at it-- but can't reconcile her new upper-middle class life with her loyalty to her mother's world.

When the girls hit the stage in front of their families, prison staff and utter strangers, hitting the notes isn't important: it's their chance to seize their stories and tell them to the world. For some, the musical will be a first step in a back-and-forth struggle to stay out of the system. For Whitney, it may be a lifesaver. Given unprecedented access to this juvenile correctional facility by the State of Illinois, the powerful characters of GIRLS ON THE WALL will surprise you with their candor, intimacy, and unexpected sense of humor. Together, they illustrate the power of storytelling to illuminate the darkest secrets, and to understand the most tangled lives.

Distributor: Sincerely Films

Length: 61 minutes

Date: 2009

Genre: Expository

Language: English

Grade: Grade 7 and up (Some harsh language/descriptions of drug use and violence)

Color/BW:  Color

Closed Captioning: Available

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