Girls who rock out
“She likes death metal and bunnies at the same time.” That’s how Laura’s friend describes her in the documentary “Girls Rock!,” which follows a group of 8- to 17-year-old girls who convene for a week during the summer of 2006 in Portland, Ore., for Girls Rock Camp. There, they make new friends, freak out, and create music in bands with names like Neon Dumpster, the Juicy Tanglers, and P.L.A.I.D. (People Lying Around in Dirt). Laura, about 14 at the time, is wonderfully imaginative, a bit misunderstood, but finds acceptance at the camp — not just with her peers but within herself. “I’m awesome!” she declares by the end of the film. The experiences captured within “Girls Rock!” have helped to grow the Girls Rock Camp phenomenon to a network of 40 affiliated camps around the world since its founding in Portland in 2001. Nora Allen-Wiles, Hilken Mancini, and Mary Lou Lord founded the Boston...