The VIS Social Impact division will join forces with Pedro Almodóvar’s production company and Mogambo to develop the new documentary series, which deals with child marriage. Produced and narrated by Penelope Cruz, it will premiere on Paramount+.
VIS Social Impact, ViacomCBS International Studios’ division focused on social impact, Pedro Almodóvar’s production company El Deseo, and Mogambo announced the co-production of the new documentary series Not a Bride.
Produced and narrated by award-winning Spanish actress Penélope Cruz, and written and directed by Dario Troiani (Violet, Kalebegiak, AW), the series (4 × 30′) has been acquired internationally by ViacomCBS’s premium streaming service, Paramount+ .
According to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, each year 12 million girls marry before the age of 18, which is equivalent to 23 girls every minute. Early and forced child marriages and unions occur worldwide, and 650 million women today face the direct consequences of this.
Not a Bride will expose the misconception that this problem only occurs in low- and middle-income countries and will shed light on the reality that it occurs in many countries, cultures and religions.
“As Paramount+ continues to expand internationally, it is important that our production portfolio reflects the way our audiences view themselves and others. By partnering with El Deseo and Mogambo, we hope to address common misconceptions associated with child marriage, to inform our audiences around the world,” said Laura Abril, Senior Vice President and Head of VIS EMEA and Asia.
“With the recent launch of VIS Social Impact, our studio’s mission is to develop innovative content with a social impact focused on equity, as well as climate and health,” Georgia Arnold, Head of VIS Social Impact and SVP Social Responsibility, ViacomCBS Networks International.
“Not a Bride will harness the power of storytelling to address the serious global problem of child marriage, and we hope that its world premiere at Paramount+ will help transform today’s perception and create a significant step toward a more just world on gender equality.”
Esther García, from El Deseo, who works as executive producer together with Agustín Almodóvar and Pedro Almodóvar, affirmed that “the testimonies of the girls and women who have suffered this traumatic experience are shocking. Through this documentary we want the world to get a better idea of this enormous problem that we really hope will begin to be solved”.
ViacomCBS International Studios recently announced the launch of VIS Social Impact, a new division of the studio focused on social impact to create content that addresses climate, equity and health for the ViacomCBS portfolio of brands, including Paramount+, as well as third parties. VIS Social Impact is part of Content for Change, a global ViacomCBS initiative that aims to counter racism, prejudice, stereotypes and hatred through company culture, creative supply chain, and ultimately , the content you create.
Not a Bride is the second VIS Social Impact project announced, after Protest & Progress, by world-renowned and history-making social activist and photographer Misan Harriman, which will also premiere on Paramount+. Other talents will be announced later.
