Can Films Help Change the World?

I just returned from Cote d'Ivoire, where I'm working with the International Rescue Committee team there to develop a social marketing campaign to combat gender-based violence.  For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, social marketing is the process of using commercial marketing principles and techniques to advance a social cause, idea, or behavior.  Increasingly, development organizations are recognizing the power of social marketing as a tool to affect change in the developing world.  Just like advertising, social marketing uses entertainment, television and the pull of popular culture to convince people to accept an idea or behavior in lieu of a product.

As a filmmaker and television producer for many years, and someone who's had an opportunity to travel all over the world, I've become aware of the dearth of quality documentary programming in much of the developing world (and quality programming in general) as well as the inaccessibility of films that are about the very people who might benefit most from seeing them.  During my stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco almost 20 years ago, the mass media served up from the West amounted to "Dynasty" reruns and slasher films that featured the subjugation of women as their main form of entertainment.  The one week when there was an international film festival in my town, the theater had to turn away hundreds of people wanting a chance to enjoy quality entertainment.  Since the advent of the Internet, things have only gotten worse, because there is no incentive for offering quality programming. In my mind, this is a form of cultural pollution that has gone unattended for too long.  

Inspired by my work in social marketing around women's issues, and meeting incredible, unknown women who are superstars in their own right, I created a project called WomenRULE™, a women's empowerment toolkit that uses film as its core.  WomenRULE™ is based on the idea that giving women and girls the opportunity to see people like themselves succeed, will empower them to succeed too.  

There is nothing like witnessing a real-life story.  Seeing a woman in a similar situation rise up and take action can give other women the courage to say: "I can do that too." WomenRULE will give women in the developing world a chance to see strong female leaders come together to affect change in their communities. 

The mission of the WomenRULE Outreach Plan is to capitalize on the power of real women's stories to encourage and empower women leaders. Using provocative, inspiring documentary films with strong female characters as its catalyst, WomenRULE brings a  robust combination of leadership symposiums, hands-on workshops and a curriculum toolkit together to nurture and encourage women worldwide to lead in any field or endeavor they choose. 

The science behind WomenRULE

How can watching a film help change women's lives? By shifting attitudes and perceptions through the sharing of empowering stories featuring local female characters--characters with whom the audience can empathize and emulate.  The science behind this phenomenon involves social norms, that is a pattern of behavior in a particular group, community, or culture accepted as normal and to which an individual is expected to conform.

Research has shown that a key underlying cause of violence against women is the

result of dysfunctional gender norms.  This is a result of both women not recognizing their own power and men assuming women are powerless.  Positive, empowering messages related to gender roles act as "preventative medicine" to encourage healthy, more equitable gender norms in societies where women are disempowered.

The WomenRULE Advisory Board currently being developed will be made up of social scientists and marketing experts, NGO partners, as well as social media and film executives.  The Advisory Board will curate an initial set of 7 documentary films, selected from the latest international film festival award rosters.  Of particular interest will be films produced by filmmakers from developing countries, including up and coming talent.

Each film will have an accompanying curriculum and facilitator toolkit to be used in leadership workshops as well as in public mobile-cinemas for both men and women.

I'm seeking capable partners to launch WomenRULE – including corporate sponsors, media outlets and NGOs who will facilitate dissemination of the film and toolkit to as many remote audiences as possible.

Interested parties please email me at virginia@womenrule.tv