She Creates Change premieres live on YouTube
A celebration of gender equality and women’s empowerment through education | October 11, 2024
Two-to-one. That’s how many men outnumber women characters in film and entertainment media, according to MediaSmarts. Women are less likely to be shown as leaders and more likely to be portrayed as less intelligent and less hard-working than men.
At Room to Read, we believe girls deserve real-life role models whose stories inspire them to dream big. That’s why we created She Creates Change.
This International Day of the Girl, in celebration of gender equality and women’s empowerment, Room to Read hosted a live global YouTube Premiere of our animated short film, She Creates Change, with audiences around the world. More than 350 viewers tuned in to our YouTube channel to chat with a few very special guests:
- Prajakta Koli, creator, actor, climate activist the voice of Dewmini
- Martha Adams, Emmy-winning film director, producer, storyteller and director and producer of She Creates Change
- Dilshad Vadsaria, actor, writer, director and voice of Diksha’s sister
- Prashanti Aswani, motion graphic artist and director of Yashika
- Lucie Treacher, composer of She Creates Change original music, including the original song, “Who I Am”
- Yashika, one of the real-life heroes featured in the film!
She Creates Change is available for streaming on Room to Read’s YouTube channel and will be distributed throughout the world in various languages through Room to Read’s gender equality programming to inspire girls — and children of all genders — to create change in their lives and communities.
True stories. Real Heroes.
She Creates Change tells the true stories of Dewmini, Keya, Trang, Diksha, Yashika and Naifat, six courageous girls from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nepal, India and Tanzania. Each of them confronts barriers to their education with foundational life skills learned through Room to Read’s gender equality programming — decision-making, leadership, critical thinking, collaboration and resilience. With the support of Room to Read, the girls use the power of their voices to advocate for change.
There are 432 million adolescent girls in the world right now between the ages of 12 and 18. We can support all of them with educational and inspirational stories that give them the tools to create lasting change for themselves, their families and generations to come.
With She Creates Change, Room to Read aims to do just that.
Ready to create change? Join our movement.
The Creators
She Creates Change is backed by a women-led creative team with executive producers Dr. Geetha Murali, Brenda Chapman (Brave), Jill Culton (Abominable), Freida Pinto (Mr. Malcom’s List) and BAFTA and Emmy-winning entertainment studio Nexus Studios. Emmy-winner Martha Adams (Girl Rising) served as director and alongside Ian Blei, as producer. Moonshine Pictures led live-action production with production support by Cineflix Media Inc.
The film features voice performances by Freida Pinto, Charithra Chandran, Prajakta Koli, Dilshad Vadsaria, Adhir Kalyan, Amita Suman, Amrita Acharia, Aly Casas and Quyen Ngo.
Animation was directed by a diverse group of women directors curated by Nexus Studios, including Bonnie Taylor Forsyth, Claudia Chinyere Akole, Hannah Lau-Walker, Neeraja Raj, Prashanti Aswani and Siqi Song. Karun performs the original song “Who I Am” written by Warsan Shire and composed by Lucie Treacher. Sound and music production was provided by Brain Audio.
She Creates Change was made possible with generous support from the Troper Wojcicki Foundation, Comic Relief US and Tatcha.
She Creates Change premieres live on YouTube
A climate change champion: Meet Dewmini from She Creates Change
Persevering in the face of adversity: Meet Trang from She Creates Change
Breaking barriers, inspiring change: Meet Diksha from She Creates Change
Leading the way to a more equitable future: Meet Keya from She Creates Change
From self-defense to self-confidence: Meet Yashika from She Creates Change
Meet Prashanti Aswani, director of She Creates Change: Yashika from Nexus Studios
Meet Neeraja Raj, director of She Creates Change: Diksha from Nexus Studios
Meet Claudia Chinyere Akole, co-director of She Creates Change: Naifat from Nexus Studios
Meet Hannah Lau-Walker, director of She Creates Change: Trang from Nexus Studios
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Room to Read
First-of-its-kind storytelling project from star-studded creators, She Creates Change, aims to reach world’s 432 million adolescent girls
Room to Read