Evanston filmmaker Ben Vogel’s “Black Girls Cheer”

Congratulations to Evanston filmmaker Ben Vogel of Home Alone Studio, whose 22-minute documentary "Black Girls Cheer" debuted at the University of Chicago yesterday!

"Black Girls Cheer" is a short documentary that explores the world of all-black

cheerleading teams and follows one Philadelphia squad's quest to capture three

national championships in one season. (Double Good)

Dear Evanston reported about the documentary back in March.

Want to watch it? You can register here.

This documentary explores the creation of the Black Girls Cheer organization, whose purpose is to help young black girls see themselves represented in the cheerleading community and empower them to be themselves.

Initially, "Black Girls Cheer" was going to be a documentary to help market Double Good Popcorn, a Chicago company that helps organizations like Black Girls CHEER raise funds to move towards their goals.

It has since become a documentary with a broader goal: to inspire young Black girls to believe in themselves.

"Sometimes, a team, a story, or a social issue hits our radar, and we can't help but want to help," Double Good says on its Facebook page. "When we were introduced to Black Girls Cheer, and watched Dynasty Spirit Elite rise to the top of their sport, we knew it was a story that needed to be shared with the world."

The filmmakers and Double Good hope to find organizations that would like to show this film that can benefit from the inspiration and dialogue.

Here's an article by the Chicago Tribune's Heidi Keibler Stevens about the documentary.