Four films followed by discussions with the audience will be screened tonight (Monday, Aug. 23) at the 2010 Women’s Empowerment Film Event at Seattle University. The films will be shown in pairs.

At 6:30 you can choose between Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter and A Girl’s Life. The first option describes the efforts of a mother who seeks political asylum in the U.S. so that her daughter will not have to face the genital cutting that 90 percent of the girls in Mali, Africa, undergo. The other explores the experiences of smart American preadolescent girls whose self-esteem, according to researchers, almost universally sinks when they enter middle school.

At 8:30: Taking Root tells the story of Wangari Maathai, who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for launching a movement to plant trees throughout her country of Kenya. Taking the Heat presents the history of women firefighters in America, who not only battled fires but learned how to survive the “friendly fire” of many of their male co-workers.

If you go: Monday, Aug 23, 6-10 p.m. Seattle University’s Pigott Building, E. Marion between 10th and 11th. Free and open to the public.