Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We interviewed everyday women in China and recorded their real daily behaviors when taking and posting “selfies”. Through real conversations we learned their stories, and the pressures of modern appearances anxiety. We then discovered a “special” non-edit photo - something which captures their real beauty and helped remind them that digital distortion isn’t required to showcase their unique beauty and confidence. The unscripted and authentic real emotional reactions, encouraged them to demonstrate their own uniqueness, with Dove’s real beauty spirit, this time without any retouching or filters.

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

When we were kids, we were happy with ourselves about how we look. Careless of judgements, there was little pressure in showing authentic expression as evident in our “childhood pictures”. As we’ve grown-up, there is increased pressure to conform to beauty “standards”, regardless if they are realistic or attainable. With the development of photo altering technologies, the norm is to “fix ourselves” before posting selfies - removing our unique beauty in an attempt to achieve specific standards. Because of the influential voices in society and specifically on social media an undercurrent of societal pressure has reduced the value of individual diverse beauty.