Neutrogena Studios and music sensations Chloe x Halle have teamed up to help champion up&coming filmmakers, the first two short films, EN AVANT and IF MY VOICE RANG LOUDER THAN MY SKIN, will be released on March 10 on YouTube, they were written and directed by two Gen Z filmmakers. They are the first two films from the studio’s First Frame Program, produced in partnership with Ghetto Film School.
The First Frame Program aims to cultivate the next generation of diverse filmmakers, encouraging them to create art that exemplifies the larger stories surrounding skin health and embracing your skin. Mentors for the program are five-time Grammy-nominated R&B duo and Neutrogena brand ambassadors Chloe x Halle, who assisted with selecting the films for the program and mentored the filmmakers with feedback on the scripts and early rough cuts.
EN AVANT highlights the internal struggle of a Black ballerina with self-acceptance as she faces racism in a white-dominated art form. Directed by 20-year-old and NYU Tisch School of the Arts student Sarah Jean Williams, the film tells the story of one’s battle with self-love through black-and-white imagery. Williams, a Ghetto Film School alumni, won the school’s special Grand Jury Prize for her film Never Grow Up.
IF MY VOICE RANG LOUDER THAN MY SKIN brings to life an allegorical story of a teenage boy who craves a life where his skin no longer affects his daily life or how others perceive him. Using 2D animation, the film follows him through the streets of the Bronx, trying to unite his community’s voice through music to rally against the divisive hate against color. The film is directed by 22-year-old Kyra Peters, an alum of Ghetto Film School and currently a script coordinator at Moonbug Entertainment.
