Ahead of International Women’s Month, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Paramount Global, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have collaborated on “In Bloom,” a short film anthology with a focus on gender equity.
Directed by five female filmmakers from Nigeria, Kenya, India, the US and Brazil, “In Bloom” is an anthology of five compelling short films that highlight female resilience and empowerment through diverse narratives addressing the most pressing issues related to gender equity today. The issues include period poverty, child marriage, gender-based violence, HIV self-stigma, family planning and women’s economic empowerment, spanning across different countries and cultures.
This initiative is a core part of MTV Staying Alive Foundation’s storytelling mission to change lives, as well as Paramount’s ‘Content For Change’ initiative. The series aims to amplify new voices, facilitate meaningful conversations that actively work towards dismantling systemic inequities, and contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Number 5: Gender Equality.
The five films are:
Aféfé, by Dolapo “LowlaDee” Adeleke (Nigeria), featuring Folu Storms
Period by Nicole Teeny (USA), featuring Yasmina El-Abd
Alta by Priyanka Banerjee (India), featuring Mazel Vyas
Maré by Giuliana Monterio (Brazil), featuring Vanessa Giácomo
Kifungo by Voline Ogutu (Kenya), featuring Brenda Wairimu
“In Bloom,” produced by Georgie Arnold, Richard Chang-Warburton and Sara Piot for MTV Staying Alive Foundation, and creatively directed by Tope Oshin, is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
To celebrate Women’s Month, the anthology will debut on Paramount+ on March I in various countries including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Latin America, Australia, and more. It will also premiere on Pluto TV globally on the same day and air on MTV international channels. The series will have its International Women’s Day debut on BET in Africa on March 8, followed by availability on YouTube in India and Africa.
