Writer/Director: Tara Milutis

Running Time: 3:23

For more information visit: www.current.tv, www.tmilutis.com

Kadidja, a young Muslim woman from Chad, sells newspapers on a street corner outside of Grand Central Station every day from 2 to 7 p.m. Her family sent her to the United States to have a better life, and to escape the dangers of the Janjaweed militia. She studies business at a local community college, and lives with her uncle, a very strict traditional Muslim man. Kadidja is stuck between two worlds: as a student, she is now a part of a world of American women who study to build a self-designed independent life for themselves, and as the ward of her abusive uncle, she is controlled by his limited view of the role of a Muslim woman in our society.

Tara Milutis is a New York City filmmaker whose background is in fine arts and drama. She studied painting in London before entering the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. At Tisch she received a B.F.A. in drama in conjunction with the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting. Since graduating she has worked both as a director and an actress in film, theater, and television. She has directed a number of award-winning short films and is currently in development on two feature-length films, DRAGON PARK and SMALL TOWN GRAFFITI.

What inspired you to make this piece?

I saw Kadidja, the girl the film is about, selling newspapers outside of Grand Central Station one afternoon as I was walking to get the 6 train downtown. She was perched on a milk crate, a pile of newspapers beside her, and a beautiful purple Hajib that seemed to glow in the hot white summer sky wrapped around her head. I was immediately stopped in my tracks by the grace of this girl -- she had a quiet, almost Audrey Hepburn-esque quality to her as she sat just inches from the dirty city street. I walked passed her, about to enter Grand Central, not thinking I had the courage and/or time to talk to her. But I knew she had a story to tell, and I just couldn't let the moment pass. So I turned around and walked back to meet her.

Briefly tell us how you made your film or video: what camera and format did you use to shoot your piece, and what system did you use to edit it? What is your working process? Did you use any special techniques to make this work?

Panasonic DVX-100, Final Cut Pro.

Do you have any interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?

My interaction with Kadidja was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have had as a filmmaker. When I first talked to her, she was incredibly surprised that I was interested in talking to her, and was very, very shy. I went back many times to the corner she worked at, and sometimes she would be there, sometimes she wouldn't. The times when I was lucky enough to find her there, we would talk, and I slowly heard her story. It affected me on an incredibly deep level, because even though we came from such radically different worlds, I could relate to so much of what she was going through. Women from all different walks of life experience abuse, control and misogyny in so many different ways that are all ultimately the same.

What is the relationship between your work as a video/filmmaker and life in the New York metropolitan area?

I am inspired by what's right in front of me. I don't end up traveling very far to make my work. I have made numerous films that all take place in basically an eight-block radius. I could make 20 films about what goes on on my block and the people that make up my neighborhood. That's what makes New York so great.

What films/videos and makers have inspired you or influenced your work? And why?

One of my favorite films is MINNIE AND MOSKOWITZ by John Cassavetes because of the brilliantly depicted relationship between Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, and the humanity that I feel that film expresses. Fellini's NIGHTS OF CABIRIA, a film that depicts in one perfect moment the power of human connection, also has the same effect on me. I am inspired by filmmakers who try to show that light.

If viewers are interested in obtaining copies of your work for rental or purchase, whom should they contact and at what address and phone number?

NEWS GIRL has been acquired by Current TV, but I have other work available for viewing and/or acquisition on my website: www.tmilutis.com