One of the “37 Words” directors, Dawn Porter, will join the Girls Club to discuss the four-part ESPN documentary series celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and exploring the ongoing struggle for equality in sports on Wednesday, June 29, at 3 p.m. EST. The virtual chat is open to the public but be sure to register in advance.
Founded by Women and Hollywood publisher and founder Melissa Silverstein, the Girls Club is a community for women creatives, culture-changers, and storytellers to connect, create, network, advocate, support, and redefine entertainment. The Girls Club is offering a one-month membership free of charge when you sign up. If you identify as a woman and would like an invitation to this community, please email girlsclubnetwork@gmail.com and let us know a bit about who you are and what you do.
Find Girls Club event details, a trailer and synopsis for “37 Words,” and Porter’s bio below.
Synopsis: From ESPN Films, Industrial Media, and Trilogy Films, “37 Words” tells the full story of Title IX – the hard-fought battle to push for equal rights in education and athletics; the decades-spanning effort to nullify its impact; and the rippling impacts of the landmark civil rights law that continue to resonate today. Helmed by acclaimed directors Dawn Porter and Nicole Newnham, the four-part series charts the spectacular transformation that 37 words have inspired in American culture and the lives of women, as well as the many ways in which the spirit of this bold law has yet to be fully realized. “37 Words” premiered June 21 (Parts 1 & 2) and continues June 28 (Parts 3 & 4) on ESPN.
Bio: Dawn Porter recently directed and executive produced the Apple TV+ mental health documentary series “The Me You Can’t See” (2021) alongside Oprah and Prince Harry. Also in 2021, her short film “Bree Wayy: Promise Witness Remembrance” (MTV Documentary Films) was released and examined how the art world responded to the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020. Her 2022 NAACP Image Award-nominated documentary “Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer” (National Geographic) shed light on a century-old period of intense racial conflict — being released 100 years after the two-day Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that led to the murder of hundreds of Black people and left thousands homeless and displaced. “Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer” was a critical success, even achieving 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The two-hour special broadcast globally in 72 countries and 43 languages on Hulu.
In 2020 Porter directed two Emmy Award-nominated documentaries: “The Way I See It” (Focus Features), which looked into two American presidencies, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, from the lens of official White House photographer Pete Souza, and “John Lewis: Good Trouble” (CNN, Magnolia Pictures), the story of the congressman and civil rights icon.
Porter received Mill Valley Film Festival’s prestigious 2020 Mind the Gap Award for Documentarian of the Year and was awarded the 2020 Marlon Riggs Award at The San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards.
As a two-time Sundance film festival director, Porter discovered her passion for filmmaking following her time as an attorney. She is currently in production on a documentary feature for MGM highlighting the return of Cirque du Soleil after the Montreal-based entertainment company was shuttered during the global coronavirus crisis.
