Oprah Winfrey; Ava DuVernay; Storm Reid; Reese Witherspoon; Mindy Kaling. If we were to design our ideal line-up for a serious dose of female empowerment, chances are these women would be top of the list. Luckily for us, we were recently given front row seats to the real thing…
Oscar-nominated film director and Female Lead Icon, Ava DuVernay, recently chose to partner with The Female Lead for the European Premiere of her blockbuster film ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. Starring Storm Reid as the young female protagonist, Meg Murray, the film adaption of Madeline L’Engle’s science-fiction-fantasy novel is drenched in imagination and celebrates the power of embracing your faults and differences. With a cast including Oprah Winfrey (Mrs. Which). Reese Witherspoon (Mrs. Whatsit) and Mindy Kaling (Mrs. Who) as three shapeshifting, astral travellers, the film explores that “tender age where you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you mean to the world and how you fit in.”
As the European Premiere commenced, a hushed tone swept through the surroundings of London’s BFI IMAX, as members of the public and press took their place on the red carpet. As the pace of arrivals picked up, so did the noise. Suddenly, there was a swell of applause, cheers and a few tears; the cast were arriving to laugh, pose and talk with fans on the red carpet.
The IMAX was at full capacity, with an audience of celebrities, inspirational female role models and students from The Female Lead’s schools network, all waiting in anticipation to see the film and hear from the iconic women in the cast. Icons from The Female Lead book were amongst the audience, including prima ballerina Michaela DePrince, Nobel Prize-winning activist Leymah Gbowee, writer and campaigner Laura Bates and space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Ava DuVernay and the talented leading women of the film, along with Edwina Dunn (The Female Lead Founder) and Lorraine Candy (Editor-In-Chief of Style Magazine), discussed why role models and female-centric stories are so important to inspire other women, particularly younger generations.
A Wrinkle in Time celebrates female empowerment, diversity and education, three pillars that are central to The Female Lead’s mission and campaign activities. We know that girls today feel that there is a lack of diverse women for them to look up to. Powerful, visible and diverse female role models – whether in popular culture or in real life – can and do have a transformative effect on aspiration, empowering girls and helping to redefine the worldview of all genders.
We are honoured to have partnered with Ava DuVernay and Disney UK to promote our mutual values and to help A Wrinkle in Time enrapture new audiences. We have now reached nearly 500,000 UK school children, and we hope to reach and inspire thousands of other students across the UK and US with our films, The Female Lead book and our teaching resources. The Female Lead would recommend this film to all who need a dose of female inspiration and for a much-needed bit of goodness in today’s world.
'You have to find the right frequency and have faith in who you are. I wish I could have heard that at a young age.' Oprah Winfrey
A Wrinkle in Time will be available to buy and stream later this summer.