White Ribbon pulls no punches with its latest PSA

White Ribbon – Short Life Stories

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Agency Bensimon Byrne/Toronto
Production Company Westside Studio
Director Angie Bird

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Credits

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Agency Bensimon Byrne/Toronto
Production Company Westside Studio
Director Angie Bird
Executive Producer Amanda Morrison
Editing School Editing
Edit Producer Yumi Suyama
Assistant Editor Zhenya Dolzikov
Editor Izzy Ehrlich

Color Alter Ego Post/Canada
Color Producer Spencer Butt
Colorist Eric Whipp
Post Production/VFX Fort York VFX
Post Producer Valerie Moss
Online Artist Melissa Vasiliev
Music Licensing/Sound Design OSO Audio
Sound Producer Lauren Dobbie

Sound Creative Director Harry Knazan
Sound Creative Director Daenen Bramberger
Chief Creative Officer Joseph Bonnici
Executive Creative Director Debbie Chan
Producer Michelle Woodward
Creative Director/Copywriter David Mueller
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter Ana Segurajauregui
DP Daniel Grant

Art Director/Copywriter Nina Hang
Producer Katie Link
Sound Producer Jane Heath

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Within the first few seconds of agency Bensimon Byrne's new spot for White Ribbon, you might think of it as a powerful yet uplifting story of a trans woman's struggles to establish her new identity.

However, the film takes a different, shocking turn towards the end that marks it out as something all-the-more vital and impactful, and, in the process, fuels an important discussion about the rising hate, discrimination and violence against the transgender communities.

Created in conjunction with sister shop Narrative (PR), and directed by Angie Bird through Westside Studio, Short Life Stories unfortunately plays true to its innocent-sounding name; creating a shocking yet heartbreakingly unsurprising parable on continued injustice.

“With this film, we tried to show the joy that is possible within the transgender community,” says Joseph Bonnici, CCO for Bensimon Byrne’s parent company, Tadiem. “The joy that can come from acceptance. The joy that can come from allyship. But often this acceptance is cruelly taken away and their basic human rights denied. The transgender community needs as much empathy and support as possible right now and that’s what we hope to create with this film.”

“Part of what drew me to this PSA is that although we often hear narratives of violence against trans individuals, White Ribbon works directly with men to learn healthy behaviours and embrace allyship, leading to actionable change,” says Kiara-Kumail, lead actor in the PSA. “What I hope viewers will get out of this is a sense of celebration for trans people, for the whole, rich, multifaceted and vibrant community that it is.

"I imagine a world where we are not mourning the deaths of trans people, but celebrating their lives while they dance through the streets with all their unbridled and unapologetic joy."