Girl America

Girl America is not just a story of mine but also resonates with the experiences of thousands of Czech children in communist orphanages. It is conveyed through the captivating lens of surreal visuality, yet its essence is deeply rooted in reality. Everything in this film is true. The narrative. The characters. The scars – it’s all genuine and authentic. This film brings to life the true account of a girl I encountered during my period of homelessness in Prague, following the Velvet Revolution. Together, we were part of the initial wave of freedom’s casualties, a group consisting of tens of thousands of children who grew without their parents. Now, twenty-five years on, Girl America revisits and reconstructs those memories with the assistance of a new generation of orphans, who breathe life into the characters, enriching the narrative with their own experiences and scars.

 

At its core, Girl America mirrors the journey of Mowgli, albeit set against the backdrop of an urban wilderness filled with strangers. It tells the poignant tale of a forsaken girl who, fortified by an unwavering belief in free America in the eighties and her hope of reuniting with her American father, surmounts all obstacles life throws her way. The film’s innovative use of fantasy imagery to reconstruct Girl America’s memories allows audiences to grasp the full intensity of the emotions involved, unfettered by the biases of conventional judgment and societal norms. This reconnection with the past facilitates the transition from a child to an emancipated woman, highlighting the profound notion that our identities are shaped by our memories as well as the moments that we fail to remember.