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Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directs Julia Roberts, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams and other stars for Gucci CHIME

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directs Julia Roberts, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams and other stars for Gucci CHIME

She has been a longtime Advisory Board member and collaborator of the campaign to promote gender equality and is now directing a 35-video series for it.
02 Jun, 2023

We already knew two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was cool but now she’s Gucci level cool. She’s directed the video for the Gucci CHIME campaign, which is dedicated to advancing gender equality around the world. It was founded 10 years ago by Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Salma Hayek Pinault.

Chinoy posted a teaser of the series on her Instagram, saying, “When we got everyone in their chairs and the cameras started rolling the conversations always ended with people saying we have to ensure that the world moves towards gender equality! In the fight for a more gender equal world who do you chime for?”

Chinoy, who has been a longtime Gucci CHIME Advisory Board member and collaborator, has directed a 35-video series that includes several big names from various industries, such as artists, activists, organisers, and advocates — including Annie Lennox, Halle Bailey, Julia Roberts, Idris Elba, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams and John Legend.

The campaign has been created to honour a decade of impact and to share what equality means to these stars. The videos are punctuated with personal anecdotes from the participants on their life experiences and hopes for the future.

“The commitment of Gucci CHIME to amplify voices over the last decade speaks to me and my work. Each film in this new series is an important reminder of why we need to champion the voices of those who are working to create change. I hope this campaign will reinvigorate conversations around the world so that everyone feels the urgency to contribute towards creating a more gender-equal future,” the director said in a press release.

The series will feature some celebrities returning to renew their support for Gucci CHIME and its mission, including the co-founder Pinault, Florence Welch, Julia Roberts, and Legend, who participated in the campaign’s launch a decade ago.

There are also some new Gucci faces such as Idris Elba, Julia Garner, Halle Bailey, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams, Jodie Turner-Smith, CHIME Advisory Board members Tanya Compas and Maryangel Garcia-Ramos, and activists Amanda Nguyen, Vee Kativhu, and Jaha Dukureh.

On June 1, 2013, Gucci hosted The Sound of Change: LIVE, a global concert event at Twickenham Stadium in London, to raise an alarm and call for global change. With a lineup including Beyoncé, Florence Welch, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and more, the concert was broadcast to one billion viewers, raising $3.9 million to support girls and women around the world.

The Sound of Change: LIVE was the first global concert event to raise funds and awareness for gender equality, and the scale of the concert served as a harbinger for what was to come. Ten years on, Gucci Chime has raised $21.5 million, which has impacted the lives of 635,000 girls and women globally through more than 500 projects in 92 countries through 185 non-profit partners.

The films will be available to stream on Gucci’s social media channels and official YouTube account.