IN CELEBRATION of International Women’s Day, streaming service Netflix and UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) has created a special playlist of 55 titles curated by women “behind and in front of the camera” including Sophia Loren, Janet Mock, Salma Hayek, Yalitza Aparicio, Millie Bobby Brown, Laurie Nunn, Lana Condor, Petra Costa, and Ava DuVernay.

“This collaboration is about taking on the challenge of telling women’s stories and showing women in all their diversity. It’s about making visible the invisible, and proving that only by fully representing and including women on screen, behind-the-camera and in our narratives overall, society will truly flourish,” said Anita Bhatia, UN Women Deputy Executive Director, in a press statement.

International Women’s Day 2020 was on March 8 though the Philippines celebrates March as National Women’s Month.

The playlist, called “Because She Watched,” includes series, films, and documentaries like Unbelievable, Luna Nera and Followers, Orange is the New Black, Lionheart, and Sex Education. These titles, Netflix said in the statement, have “have started important, often hard, conversations that have helped to challenge the way we see the world.”

The collection is available on Netflix by searching “Because She Watched” on Netflix. Each title in the collection will indicate who chose the said title.

“TV and film have the power to reflect and shape popular culture, which is why we believe it’s so important that more people see their lives reflected in storytelling”, said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in the Netflix statement.

“Our research has shown that inclusion behind the camera leads to greater inclusion on screen. We’re encouraged that last year, 20% of the directors of Netflix original films were women and we are excited to celebrate these female creators on International Women’s Day. There’s still more to do to reach equality, but by recognizing female talent from around the world, we hope more women will feel encouraged to tell their stories, pushing that number even higher,” she added.

The collection is available for the entire year.

“We hope that it will spread the message that realizing women’s rights means putting women front and center to achieve gender equality,” Netflix said in the statement. — ZBC

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