By Erin Donovan [1]

The idea of two men directing a documentary [1] about a summer camp for pre-teen girls might inevitably raise some red flags. But Arne Johnson and Shane King use their outsider status to craft an incredibly thoughtful and creative film about the Portland-based Rock'n'Roll Camp for Girls [2]. The result, Girls Rock! [3], is a moving portrait of (to quote the luminous philosopher, Madonna) what it feels like for a girl, holding equal appeal for documentary film lovers, parents, fans of rock'n'roll and anyone who grew up as a weird kid in a town without pity.

Girls Rock! focuses on four girls attending the camp for the first time. Palace, a trash- talking eight-year-old; Laura, a teenage metalhead growing up in small town Missouri; Amelia, an heir apparent to Thurston Moore [4]'s loopy guitar experiments; and Misty, a world-weary foster care refugee who, at the tender age of 17, has escaped gang life and meth addiction. Over the course of one week campers create bands, learn instruments, write songs and then perform for a sold out crowd.

Because the concept of Rock'n'Roll camp grew out of a third wave feminist ethos, the campers are also taught basic media literacy, self-defense and how to communicate feelings of isolation or frustration that young people (especially girls) are often told to squelch.

I spoke to Arne Johnson before he headed off to the True/False documentary film festival in Columbia, MO. Girls Rock! opens in select cities March 7th.

 

 

Arne Johnson (left) and Shane King

You two have been working together since you were quite young, how many projects have you collaborated on over the years?

Well, in the movie realm, we did a super 8mm film together when we were kids. Then, in college we did an unfinished short called "Ned and Sherman". And then, as adults, about a decade ago I did some scriptwriting for various environmental video work shane was doing. We also formed a band called the Fishcats when we were 20. That lasted three whole practices.

Were you surprised by how much of the camp's focus is about giving young women the tools to communicate with each other and externalize their feelings in healthy ways?

We weren't surprised that this was a focus of the staff, because they let us know that in interviews. The surprise was how effective they were in helping the girls, and what an impact it made on their lives. A rock band is the perfect cauldron of feelings and creative expression to work these things out (and if people think it's just little girls, check out Some Kind of Monster [5]!) Girls especially seem to have this idea that conflict is catastrophic, and the camp really works to help them believe that anything can be worked out.

How did you finance Girls Rock?

It's mostly self-financed. I cashed out my retirement and Shane took out a mortgage on his house. We received small (but very helpful!) grants from Bay Area Video Coalition [6] and Film Arts Foundation [7], had fundraisers, and were given chunks of money by folks we know. But about 3/4 of the budget was our money.

How did you decide on the four girls who are the main subjects?

It was a multi-stage process, actually... First, we identified early on that we wanted to focus on girls who were going to the camp for the first time. We'd heard from many people that girls would often have powerful experiences their first times there, and so that was the first filter. Then we traveled all over the country and met about 25 girls before the camp to find out what they were going to camp for, what they were thinking about, and meet their families and such. We started seeing that this movie was going to be about more than a story of a fun rock camp, and started identifying recurrent themes in what the girls were telling us.

We chose about 8 girls who were able to speak to as many of those issues as possible, and then at the camp, the rest of the decision making was just by happenstance. If we were in the room shooting when something significant happened, we'd focus more attention on the story of that girl. One thing we always try to make clear is that we didn't pick these girls just because they were funny or better musicians or cuter or anything like that. Everyone at the camp was amazing and cool and funny and talented. These girls just seemed like the best folks to speak for so many of the other girls.

What was the editing process like?

Shane and I have very complimentary skills when it comes to editing. Basically, I make a big mess and he cleans it up. And I'm only partly joking! We both overlapped and did each other's roles, but mostly I did a lot of big picture editing, laying down story arcs and big scenes, and Shane put together the sequences that emphasized those points, as well as making it all coherent and wonderful to watch.

Often a session would go like this: I'd show Shane something I'd edited, he'd look at me quizzically, i'd explain to him what i was trying to do, a light bulb would go off in his head and then he'd actually do what i had intended to do, adding his own twists and flavor. The hardest part, as it always is for a documentary, was cutting out all the wonderful material we had to get to feature length and keep the story coherent. If we'd had our druthers, it would've been a 14-hour documentary that probably only Shane and I would've enjoyed.

What were your methods of song selection? Did any artist or group not want their music to be used in the film?

No one ever told us they didn't want their music used in the movie... it's been very cool that way. Part of that is because in addition to the music of the girls and camp staff that we used in the movie, the majority of the artists on the soundtrack are indie rockers on indie labels, and there was a minimum of headaches. They were usually supportive of the camp.

Did you ever feel pressure to focus more on the celebrity involvement with the camp?

Not at all. In fact, the more prominent rockers at the camp like Beth Ditto [of Gossip [8]] and Carrie Brownstein [formerly of Sleater-Kinney [9]] are extremely protective of their time there, and if anything we were discouraged from focusing on them. Not that we ever wanted to, the girls were so amazing we knew they were the story from the beginning.

How have people been reacting to the film publicly?

It's been fantastic so far. The reviews have been great, but more importantly we got lots of email from folks who were really moved and inspired by the girls. In fact, recently we've been deluged by emails from folks who've seen our trailer and cried all the way through it. It's crazy! We always knew this was an important story, but I don't think we were prepared for how intensely some folks feel about it. We certainly would like to feel we get some credit for that, but really this intense reaction is the same emotional response the girls get when they play concerts. We feel fortunate to have gotten that feeling out of the concert and into our movie.

What, if anything, do you feel you learned about women by making this film?

Ah, where to begin?! I could probably write a book about this, but here it is condensed... basically, I grew up in a very liberal, even radical family. My mom was a feminist and I was surrounded by strong women. But I think that all made me feel like I already knew all this stuff, that I had inherited some kind of liberation and free-thinking. When we started meeting these women and girls, and reading books like "Body Project [10]", "Reviving Ophelia [11]" and others, I realized that I really had no idea what was going on. It's one thing to see sexism as an enemy you can fight, it's another to see how a poisonous culture can actually shape and distort the growing up of girls.

Before doing this movie I might say "Dang, that ad is so stupid and exploitative" and not give it another thought. Now I see that ad and simultaneously see the face of a 15-year-old girl telling me she hates her body. Or if I'm in a group of guys and someone says something off-color about women, I can't just laugh along. I realize now that those aren't just words, they're little poison pills and girls hear them. Women too. As a culture, no one will actually say they hate girls.

Many political careers have been made on "protecting the children". And yet we are all too willing to go along with the media and politicians and even our friends saying things that encourage girls to dislike themselves. I don't want any part of that anymore, I love the women and girls in my life.

What are the next stages for the film? What projects are up next for you two?

Well, the movie comes out in seven cities on March 7th, and will roll out across the country over the next couple months, so the better part of the year will be taken up with that. Putting out a film is almost like making another film! It really is our next project. After things settle down, we have a couple documentary ideas simmering on the backburners, and Shane has always wanted to make a zombie movie. A lot of it will depend on what happens next with Girls Rock!, as we've never really gone through this before. It's all new.