🎥 The Mask You Live In

Type: Feature Documentary
Directed by: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Produced by: The Representation Project
Theme: Redefining masculinity and emotional expression in boys and men

🔍 Overview:

This documentary explores how traditional norms of masculinity in American culture are emotionally repressive and contribute to a range of societal issues—violence, depression, and disconnectedness. It follows boys and young men across different backgrounds and highlights educational programs that teach emotional intelligence and empathy.

✅ Impact Highlights:

• Screened in over 1,000 schools and community centers globally
• Integrated into curricula for health education and gender studies
• Inspired the launch of related media campaigns and workshops promoting healthy emotional development for boys

🎯 Social Impact:

The film helped shift conversations from —toxic masculinity— as a blame-oriented label to a nuanced dialogue around emotional suppression, male vulnerability, and healing.

🎥 Period. End of Sentence.

Type: Short Documentary (Oscar-winning)
Directed by: Rayka Zehtabchi
Theme: Menstrual stigma and women's empowerment in rural India

🔍 Overview:

A group of women in a rural Indian village confront long-standing taboos around menstruation by learning to manufacture low-cost sanitary pads. The film blends personal storytelling with grassroots organizing, showing how economic empowerment and education intersect.

✅ Impact Highlights:

• Won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short
• Helped raise over $400,000 for the nonprofit —The Pad Project—
• Sparked conversations in global classrooms about period poverty and gender equity
• Inspired policy-level attention to menstrual health in multiple countries

🎯 Social Impact:

This short film helped demystify a stigmatized subject while celebrating local action, ultimately leading to tangible health and economic changes in viewers— communities.

🎥 #1619 Project (New York Times / Hulu)

Type: Multimedia Series (audio, visual, text, and video)
Led by: Nikole Hannah-Jones
Theme: Reframing U.S. history through the legacy of slavery

🔍 Overview:

Launched first as a long-form essay and podcast, the project evolved into a Hulu docuseries and classroom resource. It explores how slavery has shaped nearly every aspect of American life—from healthcare to capitalism—and centers Black voices in reinterpreting historical narratives.

✅ Impact Highlights:

• Transformed into a curriculum adopted by thousands of educators across the U.S.
• Led to local policy discussions on reparations and racial equity
• Won Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
• Sparked national debate on race, history, and education, inspiring counter-narratives and new legislative attention

🎯 Social Impact:

By challenging dominant historical narratives, this series advanced public discourse on racial justice and provided tools for institutional and educational reform.

💡 Common Threads in Impact

Each of these multimedia projects shares several strategic elements:

• Clear social mission rooted in personal narratives
• High emotional resonance, enabling cross-cultural empathy
• Community or policy-facing distribution strategies
• Tangible educational components for long-term impact