Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva. The prevalence of FGM varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within their diasporas. As of 2024, UNICEF estimates that worldwide 230 million girls and women had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.
Julie Ethel Dash is an American filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author, and website producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. The L.A. Rebellion refers to the first African and African-American students who studied film at UCLA. Through their collective efforts, they sought to put an end to the prejudices of Hollywood by creating experimental and unconventional films. The main goal of these films was to create original Black stories and bring them to the main screens. After Dash had written and directed several shorts, her 1991 feature Daughters of the Dust became the first full-length film directed by an African-American woman to obtain general theatrical release in the United States. In 2004, Daughters of the Dust was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance". Stemming from the film's success, Dash also released novels of the same title in 1992 and 1999. The film was later a key inspiration for Beyoncé's 2016 album Lemonade.
Waris Dirie is a Somali model, author, actress and human rights activist in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM). From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special ambassador against FGM. In 2002 she founded her own organization in Vienna, the Desert Flower Foundation. She has won numerous awards recognizing her work on eradicating FGM, including the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (2007).
Jared Francis Harris is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the drama series Mad Men (2009–2012), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; King George VI in the historical drama series The Crown (2016–2017); and Valery Legasov in the miniseries Chernobyl (2019), for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Blackrock is a 1997 Australian teen drama thriller film produced by David Elfick and Catherine Knapman, directed by Steven Vidler with the screenplay by Nick Enright. Marking Vidler's directorial debut, the film was adapted from the play of the same name, also written by Enright, which was inspired by the murder of Leigh Leigh. The film stars Laurence Breuls, Simon Lyndon and Linda Cropper, and also features the first credited film performance of Heath Ledger. The film follows Jared (Breuls), a young surfer who witnesses his friends raping a girl. When she is found murdered the next day, Jared is torn between revealing what he saw and protecting his friends.
A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term girl has other meanings, including young woman, daughter or girlfriend regardless of age, the first meaning is the most common one.
American Psycho is a 2000 satirical horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon appear in supporting roles. The film blends horror and black comedy to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, exemplified by Bateman.
Ruth Negga is an Irish actress known for her roles in the AMC television series Preacher (2016–2019) and the film Loving (2016). For her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the latter, Negga received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. For her Broadway debut as Lady Macbeth in a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth in 2022, she earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, or simply Precious, is a 2009 American drama film, directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels. Its script was written by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, adapted from the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, alongside Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, and Lenny Kravitz. This marked the acting debut of Sidibe, who portrays a young woman struggling against poverty and abuse. Filming took place in New York City from October to November 2007.
Pushed to the Limit is a 1992 action pro wrestling feature film written by Mimi Lesseos and directed by Michael Mileham. Starring Mimi Lesseos and Verrel Lester Reed, the film is about a wrestling queen who finds out that a gangster is responsible for her brother's death and trains in kickboxing to avenge his death.
Ben Charles Edwards is a British film director, producer and writer. Edwards began his career working as a photographer. Upon the release of Edwards' feature debut, The British Film Institute remarked that "Charles Edwards’ has crafted distinctive, admirable work that seems to have emerged from the unseen margins of British cinema."
The Skinny is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, the creator of the Logo television series, Noah's Arc. It was released on April 6, 2012, in select theaters.
Honor Diaries is a 2013 documentary film that explores violence against women in honor-based societies, with particular focus on female genital mutilation (FGM), violence against women and honor killings and forced marriage, and lack of access to education.
Callum Robilliard Turner is a British actor. After beginning a career as a fashion model, he began working in film and television. Turner has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and named as a Breakthrough Brit by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Ray Panthaki is a British actor, producer, screenwriter and director best known for the roles he played in Marcella (2016-2020), Away (2020), and the movie Boiling Point (2021), for which he was nominated for the 2021 BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Babe Smith is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Annette Badland. She first appeared in episode 4796 of the show, originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2014, and was introduced as the maternal aunt of established characters Shirley Carter and Tina Carter. She was introduced as part of a set of new characters that expanded the Carter family across 2013 and 2014, headed by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Babe and Badland's casting were announced on 12 December 2013.
Mimî Michelle Ndiweni, since 2021 credited as Mimî M. Khayisa, is a British actress. She is known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's The Witcher, Tilly Brockless in the television series Mr Selfridge, and Ester/Jekasai in the stage production of The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London. She has also appeared on film in Catherine Called Birdy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Cinderella and The Legend of Tarzan.
Quiet Zone is a 2015 Canadian experimental short documentary film directed by Karl Lemieux and David Bryant; they co-wrote the screenplay and Bryant wrote the score. It was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
Shinaakht is an Indian Hindi-language short film directed, written and produced by Pragyesh Singh under the banner of TNV Films. The film stars Raju Kher, Shishir Sharma, Shakti Singh, Navni Parihar, Arfi Lamba, Stefy Patel, Bikramjeet Kanwarpal and Krishna Bhatt. The film is based on Circumcision which challenges Male genital mutilation (MGM) and Female genital mutilation (FGM) as per Islamic Law.
The book In the Name of Tradition is the outcome of a comprehensive study on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Iran conducted by Kameel Ahmady, an anthropologist and researcher, and his colleagues. It was published in Farsi by Shirazeh in 2015 and followed by an English version by Uncutvoice publishing house in the same year. The study explores why and how FGM is practised in Iran. The researchers aimed to uncover the various dimensions of FGM between 2005 and 2015 in four provinces: West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Hormozgan.
