At Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from 8 to 18 are taught that it’s OK to sweat like a pig, scream like a banshee, whale on their instruments with complete and utter abandon, and that “it is 100% okay to be exactly who you are.” The girls have a week to select a band, an instrument they may have never played before, and write a song. In between, they are taught by indie-rock chicks such as Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) various lessons of empowerment from self-defense to anger management. At the end of the week, all the bands perform a concert for more than 700 people. The film follows several campers: Laura, a Korean adoptee obsessed by death metal; Misty, who is emerging from a life of meth addiction, homelessness, and gang activity; and Amelia, an eight-year-old who writes experimental rock songs about her dog Pipi. What happens to the girls as they are given a temporary reprieve from being sexualized, analyzed, and pressured to conform is truly moving and revolutionary.

Presented in collaboration with Omaha Girls Rock.

A post-show talk will follow the film featuring Omaha Girls Rock organizers Stefanie Drootin, Orenda Fink, Jenn Bernard, and Meghan Herek.