Private Project

GIRL FROM GOD'S COUNTRY

In 1921, Shipman refused a contract with Sam Goldfish ( later Goldwyn) and moved to the Idaho wilderness with a zoo of 70 wild animals to write, direct, produce and act in movies portraying women as self-reliant heroines who rescued their male leads. Shipman pioneered the nude scene, performed her own stunts and developed an uncanny rapport with her animal actors. The film reveals the forgotten legacy of Shipman and a generation of female silent film pioneers. Two years of research revealed rare footage by these early pioneers, including minority filmmakers, Zora Neale Hurston and Miriam Wong, the first Chinese-American filmmaker in 1914. Geena Davis and the Director of Women in Film discuss how gender-inequities that Shipman and her counterparts faced perpetuate in today's film industry. The all-female crew partnered with Columbia University and Boise State University to create a fitting tribute to these early film artists. A film about women in film , made by women in film.

For a look behind the scenes with our ALL FEMALE crew, watch the short below, FINDING NELL.
https://vimeo.com/123855981

  • Karen Day
    Director
    BETWEEN THE EARTH AND SKY, FROM THE GROUND UP
  • Karen Day
    Writer
    BETWEEN THE EARTH AND SKY, FROM THE GROUND UP
  • Karen Day
    Producer
    11 documentaries
  • Meredith Richardson
    Cinematographers
    ESPN Action Sports and NBC
  • Whitney McNees-Gershater
    Cinematographers
    Plum TV and Women of the Mountain
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Women in Film, history, gender disparities in media
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes 18 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    74,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital HD 1080
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • None-
  • Egyptian Theater Premiere
Director Biography - Karen Day

Karen Day is a journalist prone to dangerous enthusiasms. As a photographer, filmmaker and writer, she makes a habit of ignoring the punitive warnings of military dictators, Christian and Islamic fundamentalists, the most recent Republican administration and her Jewish mother. Consequently, her career includes house arrest in Myanmar, lunch with Dr. Anthrax in pre-war Baghdad, fashion reprimands from a warlord in Kandahar and happy hour with the Dalai Lama in Manhattan. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a BFA and a healthy dose of skepticism toward authority. Wary of overly-earnest appeals from rock stars, politicians and Sally Struthers, her professional pen and camera focus on the human element in every story, whether the subject is war-torn refugees or Hollywood celebrities. A member of the SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS and REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS, she has reported on Afghanistan, Cuba, Iraq, Myanmar, Rwanda and South Sudan for numerous national publications, including NEWSWEEK “O”, ELLE, MOTHERJONES.COM, BODY AND SOUL and the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Her independently-produced news features from Iraq have aired on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CNN, and BBC. Day is co-producer and host of the award-winning television series on PLUM TV, WOMEN WITH A CAUSE and the documentary film ETHICS AND THE WORLD CRISIS: Conversations With The Dalai Lama. She is co-writer of the book SEAL: THE UNSPOKEN SACRIFICE, about the Navy’s elite Special Operations Forces. A profound addiction to political optimism inspired this blue girl in a red state to create the billboard campaign BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE promoting a beyond-bipartisanship movement in Idaho. Criss-crossing political divides, she worked as the media producer for Governor Butch Otter in 2010. In 2011, Karen partnered with MARIE CLAIRE magazine and founded AFGHAN WOMEN'S JUSTICE PROJECT www.awjp.org , which continues to raise awareness and funds to support Women and children imprisoned for moral crimes in Afghanistan. GIRL FROM GOD'S COUNTRY is Day's 11th documentary.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

GIRL FROM GOD'S COUNTRY is my way of saying THANK YOU to the courageous female film pioneers, like Nell Shipman. I realize I could never be making documentaries to empower women and girls around the globe if these women in film hadn't come first. Their work deserves to be rediscovered and appreciated and in so doing, the public can better understand how history is repeating itself as women in film continue to experience gender disparities in today's media industry.