EVERY YEAR, IN EVERY AMERICAN STATE, the American Legion invites groups of young people to form a mock government. Part summer camp, part political nerd-fest, the event comes complete with campaign posters and speeches, elections, and the passage of various legislative bills. Back in 2020, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss brilliantly captured one of these events in Texas, resulting in the Emmy Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning Boys State. The film was an instant classic, focussing on precocious young politicians as they navigated the vagaries of their divided caucuses—a microcosm of a divided America—and found a way to express their beliefs and ambitions.
Four years and one presidential cycle later, we get the next chapter: a “sibling” film to the original that’s far more than a repetitious sequel. The husband-and-wife team of Moss and McBaine have yet again managed to be at the right place at the right time, with real-world events giving fuel to the mock-proceedings as young women gathered in Missouri’s Girls State for their event. Far more than a simple gender swap, Girls State has its own narrative power, while providing deeper context to what came before and how much the landscape has shifted over the last several years.
spoke with McBaine and Moss following the film’s premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The duo reflected upon their reticence to take on the topic again,
