Reel Grrls Executive Director Malory Graham, Mayor Mike McGinn, and Reel Grrls student and filmmaker Naomi Nelson at the 2010 Mayor’s Arts Awards. Photo by Jennifer Richard.

Naomi Nelson, an emerging filmmaker who trained at Seattle’s Reel Grrls
(and who joined Executive Director Malory Graham this summer to accept Reel Grrls’ 2010 Mayor’s Arts Award) has just been awarded the People’s Choice Award from POV‘s “This is My Family” competition for her documentary short Why Not.

The competition is part of PBS’ “Adoption Stories” public awareness campaign, launched to examine the issues faced by adoptees and families who choose to adopt.

Naomi’s film follows her first-person experience in foster care and how she beat the odds to end up at a four year university.

Click here to view Naomi’s film Why Not. Click here to view the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs’ video profile of Reel Grrls.

Interested in getting involved with Reel Grrls as a participant or mentor? Visit their “Get Involved” page.