Kristen Stewart, Gabourey Sidibe to Make Directorial Debuts, America Ferrera to Produce with Refinery29
Digital lifestyle company Refinery29 returned to NewFronts this year and revealed over a dozen new original content series, including some exciting directorial projects by big names. Refinery29’s video production unit, R29 Originals, will debut content around the theme of “claiming power through passion, strength, and empathy.”
Kristen Stewart will make her directorial debut with a short film currently titled “Water,” and Gabourey Sidibe (“Empire,” “Precious”) will make her directorial debut with a short film currently titled “A Tale of Four Women.” Both shorts will be a part of Refinery29’s ShatterBox Anthology, a series featuring 12 original short films created by female directors, writers, and animators that will explore the dynamics of power. The series will provide the women with creative support from Women at Sundance and advisory support from Killer Films’ founders Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler.
Additional filmmakers in the ShatterBox Anthology include Academy Award nominee Jessica Sanders, Tribeca Film Festival Nora Ephron Prize winner Meera Menon, Webby Award founder and Emmy nominee Tiffany Shlain, Courtney Hoffman, Jessica Dimmock, Robin Cloud, Roja Gashtili, Julia Lerman, and Anu Valia. The first film debut backed by ShatterBox Anthology, “Kitty,” which is Chloë Sevigny’s directorial debut, will premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
America Ferrera will executive produce “Behind The Headlines,” a multimedia experience made up of video, editorial, and imagery, which according to the release is “dedicated to humanizing the conversations around the issues that matter to women. The initiative will tell powerful stories about key social issues through a human lens, which is not often seen in the news, focusing on topics from immigration to global gun rights.”
Fererra will also executive produce “Only Girl,” a docu-series that “investigates what it means to be a female in a male-dominated field, as women chase their dreams and fight for their seat at the table. Profiling women who are debunking gender norms, from baseball players to airplane pilots, each episode will uncover what gender inequality means for a woman at the start of her career and set the stage for open conversation on why these gaps exist.”
Stewart, Sidibe, and Ferrera’s projects are just a few set for Refinery29’s production slate, which also includes social-first content, scripted and unscripted long form and shorts, thematic series, and interactive live events. Genres range from comedy to style, sex to sports, and pop culture to global social issues, all with women at the center.
“We need to move away from the idea of selling ‘empowerment’ to women. This generation of women has an innate sense of power that has never existed before, and we see it in our audience every day. We need to honor that power,” said Amy Emmerich, chief content officer at Refinery29. “Refinery29 aims to rally our community of strong, outspoken, and confident women to harness the strength, passion, and empathy that fuels them. We are proud to be collaborating with award-winning talent to create a slate of female-focused content that showcases what it is to be powerful in a non-traditional way.”
The rest of Refinery29’s programming slate is listed below, with descriptions courtesy of Refinery29.
Brawlers — This dedicated YouTube channel will launch in May 2016 with five series celebrating women in sports and delivering a fresh look at some of the most accomplished female athletes in the world who are eliminating the distinction between strength and beauty. The series includes: “Game of Life,” a profile series featuring women such as 12-time Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long and WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne; “Bend It Like Beka,” an instructional video series with yoga expert Beka Halls; and “Knock Out,” a deep dive into the world of female boxers that includes three-time Golden Glove winner Alicia Napoleon. Brawlers will launch in partnership with smartwater.
“Champions of the Universe” — Part of the Brawlers channel, this docuseries features five-time world record holder in hula-hooping, Marawa The Amazing, as she travels to the far reaches of the universe in search of fellow record breakers who are raising the bar of human achievement.
“Chasing Daylight” — This Facebook Live series will broadcast exclusive and intimate daily conversations with global tastemakers and influencers. From Sydney to Bangkok, the stars of “Chasing Daylight” will live stream an hour of their day, creating a universal dialogue around beauty, style, and culture. As the sun sets in one time zone, we travel to the next.
“Naked Truths” — “Naked Truths” is a weekly YouTube series where popular social talent is invited to join a cultural conversation about beauty norms. They remove their makeup on camera and delve into their personal story of self-acceptance.
#R29StyleStalking — What began as an editorial franchise and became a New York Times best-selling book by Refinery29 cofounders Christene Barberich and Piera Gelardi, “Style Stalking” is now an Instagram-based fashion video series showing street style in motion. Tapping into the naturally voyeuristic nature of the platform, the series follows one trend across three cities and shows how different women interpret it with their own game-changing spin — making the street the new runway and inviting the audience to share its best street style.
“Sex Ed” — In Refinery29’s second collaboration with Planned Parenthood, “Sex Ed” is a four-part scripted series delivering sexual education through the lens of what women actually need and want to know. Like the older sister you never had, it will break down the A-Zs of sex.
Short Cuts — Leveraging influencers from Refinery29’s talent collective, Here and Now, including online media personality Gigi Gorgeous, alongside real women cast from the Refinery29 staff and other collaborators, this dedicated Facebook channel is a DIY-versity of daily tips and tricks that make looking good easier than ever.
Sound Off — This documentary series celebrates up and coming musicians around the globe as they are making strides across the music industry. “Sound Off” explores how personal style, culture, and place influences their music, profiling artists including Sunflower Beam, Princess Nokia, and Karol Conka. There will be a VR/360 companion series supporting this franchise.
“Strangers “— From producer Beachside Productions, writer-director Mia Lidofsky (2015 AFI Directing Workshop for Women), and executive producer Jesse Peretz (co-executive producer and director of HBO’s Girls), “Strangers” is a long-form, scripted comedy about Isobel Song (played by Zoe Chao), a young woman navigating the most emotionally complicated time in her life, all the while dealing with a revolving door of new guests staying in her house’s spare room.
VR29 Studios — VR29 Studios will provide immersive access to exclusive experiences and far-flung places. Starting in June 2016, Refinery29 will launch one VR/360 asset every week for the remainder of 2016, exploring topics such as music, fashion, theater, sports, and travel.
“What We Teach Girls “— From executive producers Morgan Spurlock and Jeremy Chilnick from Warrior Poets and Maker Studios, from their smartish content slate,comes a long-form global exploration of the lessons and values girls are taught throughout their lives in their respective communities. Each episode features juxtaposing stories of two very different, extraordinary girls from vastly different subcultures. Some of the girls featured include 12-year-old Lupita, who helped her mother found the Radical Monarchs Brownie Troop in Oakland, CA; Suman from India who escaped an arranged marriage at age 14 in order to stay in school; and Carol from Uganda who is determined to change her community’s perspective on menstrual hygiene.
