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Of Hopscotch and Little Girls...

1999 52 min
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Hopscotch is universal. Girls around the world trace squares on the ground, then hop through them, trying hard to reach the end. Girls share other interests too; they all like to talk about school, what they want to be when they grow up, who they will marry, how many children they will have, their hopes for a better life for themselves and their family. But all too often, through poverty, perversion, spite, ignorance or superstition, adults shatter these dreams by denying girls the right to an education, entering them into forced labour, subjecting them to mutilation, sexual abuse and other …

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Of Hopscotch and Little Girls...

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Hopscotch is universal. Girls around the world trace squares on the ground, then hop through them, trying hard to reach the end. Girls share other interests too; they all like to talk about school, what they want to be when they grow up, who they will marry, how many children they will have, their hopes for a better life for themselves and their family.

But all too often, through poverty, perversion, spite, ignorance or superstition, adults shatter these dreams by denying girls the right to an education, entering them into forced labour, subjecting them to mutilation, sexual abuse and other injustices.

Soni, Kamlesh, Mou, Yui, Dalal, Esmeralda, Fatou, Adiaratou, Safi and Maude range in age from 8 to 14. Some are frail, some strong; all are beautiful. Whether they live in India, Thailand, Yemen, Peru, Burkina Faso or Haiti, they all speak of having much of their childhood stolen from them. Because they are girls. With subtitles.

  • director
    Marquise Lepage
  • script
    Marquise Lepage
  • original idea
    Raymonde Provencher
  • research
    Raymonde Provencher
    Marquise Lepage
    Marcel Simard
    Monique Simard
  • director of photography
    François Vincelette
  • sound
    Diane Carrière
  • picture editor
    Natacha Dufaux
  • sound editing
    Lusse Cloutier
  • music
    Robert Marcel Lepage
  • executive producer
    Monique Simard
  • co-producer
    Nicole Lamothe
  • producer
    Marcel Simard
  • participation
    Fatou Déné
    Safi Bougma
    Adjaratou Bougma
    Maude Duras
    Soni Soni
    Kamlesh Khatik
    Esmeralda Ramirez-Sallas
    Mou
    Yui
    Dalal Abdelaziz
  • translation
    Kathleen Fee
  • voice
    Kathleen Fee
  • researcher
    Aminatou Bandé
    Watine Sou
    Isabelle Chen
    Sylviane Tramier
    Li Guo
    Archana Anand
    Patralkha Chaterjee
    Lucie Kearns Vézina
    Rachèle Magloire
    Zein Elabdin Fouad
    Jocelyne Talbot
  • interpreter
    Aminatou Bandé
    Watine Sou
    Isabelle Chen
    Sylviane Tramier
    Li Guo
    Archana Anand
    Patralkha Chaterjee
    Lucie Kearns Vézina
    Rachèle Magloire
    Zein Elabdin Fouad
    Jocelyne Talbot
  • camera assistant
    Nathalie Lasselin
    Dawn Nichol
  • editing intern
    Isabelle Lavigne
  • musician
    Javad Davari
  • sound editor
    Robert Poirier
  • singer
    Nazaré Pereira
    R. Casoy de Queiroz
    F. Leibovitz
    JC Pereira Conde
  • production manager
    Nadège Pouyez
    Jean-François Laprise
    Isabelle Fortier
  • assistant to the producer
    Diane Gallant
    Brigitte Sénéchal
    Marie-Christine Guité
  • administrator
    Jean-François Foucault
    Jean Brien
    Denise DesLauriers
    Louise Ouellette
  • distribution
    Joanne Carrière
  • unit publicity
    Chantal Dufresne Communications
  • sound mixing
    Serge Boivin
    Jean Paul Vialard
  • negative cutting
    Nicole Côté
  • titles
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • online editing
    Denis Pilon
    Sylvain Desbiens

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Education

Ages 12 to 15
School subjects
This film speaks to the differences in cultures and traditions that dramatically influence young girls in various countries. Are their life journeys different from those of young girls here? Do they seem happy in their situations? Are they fearful about the future? Resigned to their fates? Can the international community do something to help? This is an opportunity to explore birth-rate policies, both official and unofficial, understand their consequences on individuals, and study Canada’s child-protection policies.
Of Hopscotch and Little Girls...
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