Disney today announced a new global project giving 21 talented young women from different parts of the world the chance to make digital shorts telling the stories of inspiring female role models. The initiative, which is called the #DreamBigPrincess series will be shared across Disney’s global media platforms as part of a campaign to unlock up to a $1 million donation to Girl Up, an initiative of the U.N. Foundation.
Each aspiring filmmaker will be paired with an inspirational interview subject spanning a diverse range of professions. The young women will capture the stories of these incredible individuals, along with their advice for achieving success. Oscar-winner Jennifer Lee, who heads up Disney’s Feature Animation, is one of the talented women who will be featured in the series.
“Using the journeys of characters like Anna, Elsa and Moana to inspire kids to dream big is at the very heart of what all of us at Disney do,” says Jennifer Lee, director/writer of Frozen and CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios. “The #DreamBigPrincess series is the perfect extension of that vision, providing a powerful platform for the next generation of aspiring filmmakers to create content about the women who have inspired them.”
You can watch the announcement video here:
Plans for the series were unveiled at the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., where the 21 participants took part in a unique workshop to give them the tools they can use to make their digital shorts. Each video will be shot on iPhone X and will be edited using Final Cut Pro X running on MacBook Pro. The aspiring filmmakers will also participate in a unique workshop including hands-on training from Apple technical experts, mentoring sessions with female-led production company Summerjax and creative inspiration from Disney storytelling veterans.
Following the workshop, the young women will embark on their own creative journeys back in their home countries with ongoing mentorship from Disney, Apple and Summerjax, before their videos debut across certain social media in October, helping drive an up to $1 million donation from Disney Worldwide Services to Girl Up.
In addition to supporting young aspiring filmmakers and sharing inspiring stories around the world, the #DreamBigPrincess campaign aims to make a tangible difference for girls who face challenges in achieving their dreams. Through Disney’s collaboration with Girl Up, for each like or share of a video or photo with #DreamBigPrincess on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, Disney Worldwide Services will donate US $1 to Girl Up, in support of girls’ leadership and empowerment (minimum donation: $500,000/maximum donation: $1 million). This charitable activation will kick off on October 10 and run until November 20, 2018.
This year’s initiative builds on the success of the #DreamBigPrincess Global Photography series, which saw 19 female photographers from 15 countries capture inspiring stories of real world women and girls to encourage kids to reach for their goals. The precedent-setting campaign reached millions of families around the world unlocking a $1 million donation to Girl Up in less than five days. The images from the multi-award-winning campaign were also honored with an exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
