P&G Accelerates Action to Widen the Screen for Diverse Storytelling

Following the 2021 launch of Widen The Screen – P&G’s expansive content creation, talent development and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of the Black experience  we announced this week additional efforts to create even more opportunities for Black filmmakers, expand the platform with more stories that widen the view of black life and fuel inclusive investment. We are also broadening our year two efforts to drive the pipeline for more diverse creators and more accurate stories and portrayals from all underrepresented communities.

“Widen The Screen is a content platform that aims to increase investment in multicultural creators, the stories they create, and in diverse media spending,” says Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, Procter & Gamble. “We started with, and continue to step up for, Black creators, but it doesn’t stop there. We are now expanding our efforts to Widen the Screen for more underrepresented creators by bringing together partners from across the industry to make systemic change and drive creativity for growth and good.”

A Closer Look at the Impact of Widen the Screen
In addition to film screenings and key events hosted at the Tribeca Film Festival and Cannes Lions in 2021, Widen The Screen was able to provide opportunities and visibility for Black creators in several impactful ways during its first year, including:

• Accelerating opportunities for 300+ Black filmmakers across 12 films, including Queen Collective and 8:46 Film shorts, resulting in over 3,001 minutes of original representative content.
• Doubling the number of Queen Collective films (as part of P&G’s signature talent development program for female directors of color) and providing job opportunities through the program to over 100 people, 75% of whom were people of color.
• Increasing investment in Black Owned media companies, including Group Black, Central City Productions and Allen Media Group, as well as longstanding Black operated partners such as BET and OWN, to encourage the elimination of investment inequalities in the creative supply chain.

This increased investment has been delivered through initiatives like The Widen The Screen Partnership Development Fund. The fund was designed to expand the Black-owned media ecosystem and bring Black stories to Black communities, and it aims to create and license content to Black-owned media companies, delivering programming which enables them to increase ad inventory.

P&G Accelerates Actions to Further Widen the Screen
P&G is also stepping up to build on the impact created in the inaugural year of Widen the Screen to reach all diverse creators  to Widen our View for, and drive accurate portrayal of, all underrepresented communities. Additional actions include:

• Hosting the Widen The Screen Creative Bootcamp program in partnership with Group Black, P&G and The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective’s (CC:DC) Inkwell Beach at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, which brings diverse creators to Cannes to widen the talent pipeline and champion a multicultural presence at the festival.
• Bringing authentic stories to Black communities through the Widen The Screen film festival strategy which has seen 8:46 Films and Queen Collective films featured in over 40 films festival screenings, resulting in 9 award wins and nominations, including a nomination for 2022 NAACP Image Awards.

• Partnering with Poderistas, Alma and the Hispanic Star on projects for the LatinX community and has joined with partners in the Asian-Pacific Islander community, including PCA and R/GA’s Asian Voices Culture Collective group to create the film “The Name,” which released during Asian American Pacific Islander Month.
• A continued commitment to widen the screen for gender equality through FREETHEWORK, which helped P&G brands get to 45% of advertising directed by women filmmakers, versus the 11% when P&G began in 2018. P&G’s multi-year partnerships also continue with women-owned companies, including Katie Couric Media, Alma Har’el’s Jellywolf, Seneca Women Podcast Network, and Hello Sunshine, among others.

• Fueling visibility and accurate representation for the LGBTQ+ community through the production of four provocative films, including the award-winning CODED, created with Imagine Entertainment and presented in partnership with Imagine Entertainment & Television, Delirio Films and MTV Films.

• Continuing to use its reach to bring together companies and voices from across the industry to drive creative transformation. This includes leading a discussion to “Advance the Culture and Currency through Inclusive Storytelling” at Tribeca X 2022, a platform for industry leaders to share important lessons in creating innovative content that resonates with audiences. Hosted by Rose Pierre-Louis, Chief Operating Officer, McSilver Institute and featuring LL COOL J, Founder & CEO, Rock The Bells, Donald Jackson, Chairman & CEO, Central City Productions and Zoey Martinson, Director, 8:46 Films Cupids the panel outlined the industry audience with immediate and urgent steps needed to enable diverse and authentic storytelling and drive equality into the media industry.

Year Four of the Queen Collective
Queen Collective, a partnership between P&G, Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios, returns with six new Queen Collective films, debuting in Fall 2022. Now in its fourth year, the Queen Collective is enabling a record number of diverse directors and other creatives to produce their original documentaries and scripted pieces.

“Queen Collective is back, bigger than ever,” says Queen Latifah, award-winning rapper, singer, film producer, and Queen Collective cofounder. “This year’s Queen Collective features six Black female directors whose unique voices and viewpoints need to be heard and seen. I’m thrilled to walk alongside them in their creative journeys and to champion the evolution of their artistry.”

“Tribeca Studios is excited to continue to partner with Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment and P&G to not only bring a diversity of stories to television and film, but to also bring more diverse storytellers to the creative table,” said Paula Weinstein, Chief Content Officer, Tribeca Enterprises.