Girls Town

Mid-1990s, New York City. Patti, Angela, Emma and Nikki are high school seniors and best friends preparing for life beyond graduation. Their dreams for the future differ greatly – Angela wants to become a poet, Emma and Nikki have are heading for college, and Patti is a young mother looking for stability in her kid’s life – but the four bright, young women are steadfastly loyal to each other in a way only teenagers know how to be. Their lives are then completely upended when, after being sexually assaulted, Nikki unexpectedly commits suicide. Grieving, angry, and forced to return to daily life without satisfying recourse for their feelings, the girls must come of age with a newfound understanding about the patriarchal world in which they live. Led by Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, Anna Grace and Academy Award-nominee, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard), the 1996, award-winning Sundance indie was co-written by the actors in collaboration with first-time filmmaker Jim McKay, lending “a welcome little gust of teen-age realism” (New York Times), to the film’s coming-of-age narrative. One of the first films of its kind to frankly address sexual violence as women experience it, 'Girls Town' continues to be relevant in a post-#MeToo world. An energetic, all-female soundtrack featuring 1990s musical icons – Queen Latifah, PJ Harvey, Roxanne Shante, Salt-N-Pepa, and others – underscore the films timeless message of empowerment.