“Our country has been so charged over the last eight years”: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Emily Worthmore, Nisha Murali, Faith Glasgow and Cecilia Bartin on Girls State

Heading into this US election year, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine gear up to release their latest film documentary, Girls State. Initially debuting at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the new Apple TV+ release sees 500 young girls from all across Missouri, all with varying political stances, come together to see what it’s like to build a government from the ground up. Not at all a sequel to their critically acclaimed 2020 film Boys State – more like a sister or companion piece – Moss and McBaine cover the other half of the spectrum. Boys/Girls State are leadership programmes that sharpen and enrich young individuals’ minds on government, teaching them skills needed to lead and understand the inner dynamics of US politics.

Girls State features high school girls from diverse backgrounds throughout their week-long camp as they attend mock trials, participate in topical debates, meet people with opposing political views and build relationships over time. Among the candidates the directors followed were Emily Worthmore, Faith Glasgow, Cecillia Bartin and Nisha Murali. The Upcoming caught up with Moss and McBaine to talk about watching Girls State without the context of Boys State, choosing which girls to feature in the film documentary and the importance of diverse political opinions and building relationships from it.

We also shared a few words with Worthmore, Glasgow, Bartin and Murali in which we discussed their reasons for joining the programme, parts of politics they never thought about before being involved in Girls State, and working together with other women who had opposing political opinions.

Mae Trumata

Girls State is released on Apple TV+ on 5^th April 2024.

Watch the trailer for Girls State here: