Netflix and UN Women launch special collection curated by 55 groundbreaking women in entertainment
“Because She Watched” collection celebrates the power of storytelling this International Women’s Day, with Cindy Bishop representing ThailandDate:
[Press release]
California, USA. — Netflix and UN Women today launched “Because She Watched” - a special Netflix collection of series, documentaries, and films to celebrate International Women’s Day. The collection, which will be available all year, is curated by female creators from behind and in front of the camera - including Sophia Loren, Janet Mock, Salma Hayek, Yalitza Aparicio, Millie Bobby Brown, Laurie Nunn, Lana Condor, Petra Costa, Ava DuVernay, and Thailand’s very own Cindy Bishop.
“This collaboration is about taking on the challenge of telling women’s stories and showing women in all their diversity. It’s about making visible the invisible, and proving that only by fully representing and including women on screen, behind-the-camera and in our narratives overall, society will truly flourish,” said Anita Bhatia, UN Women Deputy Executive Director.
Created for International Women’s Day, whose official theme this year is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights,” the collection celebrates the stories that have inspired the women who inspire us. These series, films and documentaries - Unbelievable, Followers and Luna Nera to Orange is the New Black, Lionheart and Sex Education - have started important, often hard, conversations that have helped to challenge the way we see the world.
“Having a world where everyone is truly represented is about true democracy. And truly seeing ourselves allows us to envision endless possibilities for ourselves and each other”, said actress Laverne Cox. “Orange Is the New Black is the first project where I felt genuinely empowered as a woman thanks to the woman at the helm of the show, Jenji Kohan, and the many women directors, writers, producers, and crew members as well as the stories that centered diverse women in an unprecedented way. This show created a space and platform for me as a black openly trans woman that created space for other openly trans women of all races to be truly seen in the depth of our humanity”.
The collection is available at Netflix.com/BecauseSheWatched - or by searching “Because She Watched” on Netflix. Every title in the collection will be labelled XXXX’s Women’s Day Pick so members can easily see who picked which story. In addition, members will be able to choose from a selection of “Because She Watched” profile icons to celebrate their favourite female characters from the collection.
“TV and film have the power to reflect and shape popular culture, which is why we believe it's so important that more people see their lives reflected in storytelling”, said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. “Our research has shown that inclusion behind the camera leads to greater inclusion on screen. We're encouraged that last year, 20 per cent of the directors of Netflix original films were women and we are excited to celebrate these female creators on International Women's Day. There's still more to do to reach equality, but by recognizing female talent from around the world, we hope more women will feel encouraged to tell their stories, pushing that number even higher.”
“Representation and inclusion are fundamental to human rights and have become increasingly relevant in today’s world. ‘Because She Watched’ is an important initiative that speaks volumes in recognizing the extraordinary stories of women. While entertainment primarily serves to spark joy to the world, it is also a powerful medium to raise awareness of the inequalities and cultural struggles women continue to face today - including Thailand. I hope this collection will inspire us to challenge traditional gender-biased values and the entrenched preconceived notions of what women can and cannot do,” said Cindy Bishop, Thailand’s representative for “Because She Watched”.
UN Women and Netflix’s partnership in support of the Generation Equality campaign comes on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, recognized as a visionary agenda for women's rights. We hope that it will spread the message that realizing women’s rights means putting women front and center to achieve gender equality.
Please find the women who curated the "Because She Watched" collection below:
Alejandra Azcárate (Colombia) - Vis a Vis, Alice Wu (United States) - Frances Ha, Andrea Barata Ribeiro (Brazil) - Sex Education, Anna Winger (Germany) - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ava DuVernay (United States) - A Wrinkle in Time, Barbara Lopez (Mexico) - Scandal, Beren Saat (Turkey) - Bird Box, Bruna Mascarenhas (Brazil) - Quien Te Cantará, Cecilia Suárez (Mexico) - Marriage Story, Chris Nee (United States) - Orange is the New Black, Christian Serratos (United States) - The Goop Lab, Cindy Bishop (Thailand) - Anne with an E, Elena Fortes (Mexico) - Atlantique, Esther Acebo (Spain) - Chef's Table: Bo Songvisava, Fadily Camara (France) - How to Get Away with Murder, Fanny Herrero (France) - Je Parle Toute Seule, Fatimah Abu Bakar (Malaysia) - Babies, Francesca Comencini (Italy) - What Happened, Miss Simone?, Giovanna Ewbank (Brazil) - The Most Beautiful Thing, Hanna Ardéhn (Sweden) - Silence of the Lambs, Hazar Erguclu (Turkey) - House of Cards, Hend Sabry (Egypt) - Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, Ida Elise Broch (Norway) - RuPaul's Drag Race, Janet Mock (United States) - Paris Is Burning, Joyce Cheng (Hong Kong) - Queer Eye, Juliana Vicente (Brazil) - When They See Us, Kemi Adetiba (Nigeria) - King of Boys, Kiara Advani (India) - Lust Stories, Lali Espósito (Argentina) - Notting Hill, Lana Condor (United States) - Grace and Frankie, Lauren Morelli (United States) - Julie & Julia, Laurie Nunn (England) - The Keepers, Laverne Cox (United States) - A Call to Courage, Liz Garbus (United States) - She's Gotta Have It, Logan Browning (United States) - Someone Great, Lynn Fainchtein (Mexico) - 2001: Space Odyssey, Marcela Benjumea (Colombia) - Dead to Me, Mercedes Morán (Argentina) - Aquarius, Mika Ninagawa (Japan) - In the Realm of the Senses, Millie Bobby Brown (United Kingdom) - Miss Americana, Mina El Hammani (Spain) - ¿Qué Co#o Está Pasando?, Mindy Kaling (United States) - Chewing Gum, Mira Lesmana (Indonesia) - ROMA, Mithila Palkar (India) - Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, Nahnatchka Khan (United States) - Young Adult, Ngô Thanh Vân (Vietnam) - Wonder Woman, Nosipho Dumisa (South Africa) - Gravity , Pathy Dejesus (Brazil) - Raising Dion, Paulina Garcia (Chile) - Deux Jours, Une Nuit, Petra Costa (Brazil) - Feminists: What Were They Thinking?, Salma Hayek (Mexico) - Unbelievable, Sandi Tan (Singapore) - Russian Doll, Shefali Shah (India) - Delhi Crime, Sophia Loren (Italy) - The Crown, Yalitza Aparicio (Mexico) - Knock Down the House
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