She Creates Change| Room To Read | 2023  Trailer

'She Creates Change’ is groundbreaking nonprofit initiative championing gender equality through animation and live-action films. Led by Emmy-winner Martha Adams and a diverse team of women directors, including myself, these documentaries spotlight the inspiring journeys of six courageous young women from marginalized communities across Asia and Africa.

I directed the animated film based on the incredible Yashika from India, who, through the practice of karate, learns to gain control over her emotions and overcome her fears. Set for release on International Women's Day 2024, the film aims to empower 432 million adolescent girls worldwide to drive positive change in their communities.

Film Stills

Credits

Brand: Room to Read
Production Company: Nexus Studios
Director: Prashanti Aswani
Executive Producer: Julia Parfitt & Electra Fotopoulou
Producer: Connie Black
Art Director: Melanie Climent
Editor: Dylan White

Festivals

World Premiere at Tribeca X Film Festival Oscar®-Qualifying (US, June '23)
SXSW Edu Film Festival Oscar®-Qualifying (US, March '24)

Select Interviews

Teen Vogue | 'Why Seeing Smart Girls Onscreen Makes for a Better World'

Cartoon Brew | 'Animated Shorts Aim To Reach World’s 432 Million Girls'

Variety | 'Freida Pinto Lends Voice to Animated International Women’s Day Film

She Creates Change

She Creates Change is a series of six animated shorts with accompanying live action mini documentaries that feature the narratives of six courageous young women from historically low-income communities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam. The series, produced by award-winning entertainment company Nexus Studios, portrays how each girl confronts challenges unique to her life — such as harassment, food scarcity or early marriage — along with the life skills she uses to advocate for herself and her future. The stories address topics including climate justice, financial literacy, discrimination, menstruation and sexual harassment.

She Creates Change will be available in dozens of languages — starting with English, Spanish, and Hindi — and distributed throughout the world, through Room to Read programs and in partnership with community organizations and governments. Curriculum packages that align with the stories presented, based on Room to Read’s comprehensive seven-year Girls’ Education Program curriculum, will be provided online, through broadcast media and in-person programming.

All six stories from the She Creates Change film series will be released to general audiences in March 2024, in celebration of International Day of the Girl.