Girls State (film)

Girls State
Girls State
	Release poster
Directed by	Jesse Moss; Amanda McBaine;
Produced by	Jesse Moss; Amanda McBaine;
Cinematography	Daniel Carter; Laura Hudock; Laela Kilbourn; Keri Oberly; Erynn Patrick; Martina Radwan; Thorsten Thielow;
Edited by	Amy Foote
Music by	T. Griffin
Production; companies	Apple Original Films; Concordia Studio; Mile End Films;
Distributed by	Apple TV+
Release dates	January 18, 2024 (Sundance); April 5, 2024;
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Girls State is a 2024 American documentary film, directed and produced by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine. It follows teenage girls from Missouri navigating a week-long immersive democratic experiment Girls State, learning how to build a government from the ground up. It serves as a companion film to Boys State (2020).

It had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024, and was released by Apple TV+ on April 5, 2024.

Cast

The film primarily focuses on three participants in the program:

Emily Worthmore, a Christian white conservative girl who runs for the Federalist Party Governor. She wants Girls State to be taken more seriously and increasingly focus on partisan issues rather than just bipartisan politics. Her passion for journalism leads to her interrogating the foundational differences between the Girls State and Boys State programs.
Nisha Murali, an Indian girl who pushes herself to be more social and loves big decision-making, aiming to be a Girls State Supreme Court Justice, going through a string of pressing interviews to do so. She is most vocal about the topic of abortion rights.
Tochi Ihekona, a black progressive girl who runs for the Nationalist Party State Attorney General. She is Nigerian with immigrant parents. She hopes to ensure she can provide quality legal counsel to the Supreme Court.

Other participants also make prominent appearances, especially Faith Glasgow and Cecilia Barton, who determinedly run for Federalist and Nationalist Party Governor respectively, as well as Brooke Taylor, who aims to be a Girls State Supreme Court Justice alongside Nisha, and Maddie Rowan, friend of Emily and vocal member of the queer community.

Premise

A large group of teenage girls with diverse backgrounds and views from Missouri attend 2022's Girls State, a week-long democratic experiment about building a government from the ground up. Several girls campaign for the highest office at Girls State, Governor of Missouri. The film also tackles the systemic differences between Girls State and Boys State, the latter often being socially taken more seriously as a program for meaningful political discussions.

By the end, Cecilia Barton wins the election for Governor and Tochi Ihekona successfully becomes Attorney General at Girls State. And even though she lost the election for Governor, Emily Worthmore is granted a scholarship.

Production

In December 2023, it was announced Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine had directed a documentary film revolving around Girls State, with Apple TV+ producing and distributing.^[2]