Nations United
Lead agency
72 Films
Partners
United Nations
The Brief
The aim was to create a film, a unique 30-minute global broadcast to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and the 5th anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals. We wanted to create a film as part of the ‘SDG Moment’ in September 2020. And most importantly, the film was to present some of the UN’s transformative solutions that could bring about real global change.
Amid a pandemic radically transforming our world, we needed to tell the story of the world as it is, as it was, and as it could be and the role of the United Nations in shaping that future. Combining powerful interviews with leading icons, activists and thinkers; dynamic archive stories; compelling musical performance; and instructive data visualizations, the film was to grapple with the world’s biggest issues.
The Approach
TITLE AREA
We created the film, Nations United, which sets out what must be done to tackle the world’s biggest issues, from tackling COVID to poverty, inequality, gender discrimination, climate change, justice and human rights. The broadcast was aired on the 19th of September which marked the UN’s 75th anniversary, as well as the 5th anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The film featured the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Malala Yousafzai, Don Cheadle, Michelle Yeoh, Forest Whitaker, Thandie Newton, Sugata Mitra and an exclusive performance from Grammy-nominated singer Burna Boy, and a new version of a previous UN performance by multi-Grammy award-winning artist, Beyoncé.
We feel the weight of history on our shoulders. The whole planet is at stake. The way we have been moving leads nowhere and we need to change course."
The Results
TITLE AREA
Since it was first broadcast in September, the film has had huge reach. It premiered on YouTube, has been shown on TV channels from Sky to Al Jazeera, in over 30 countries from Russia to Nigeria, reaching a potential audience of over 100 million. The podcast has been broadcast in multiple countries from New Zealand to Japan. UN country offices have also used it in their work to bring to life the action needed.
As of December 22nd, the film has over 260,000 views on Youtube, with over 1 million views of cutdown clips on gender, poverty and climate. 155 print pieces have been written, and 590,000 employees reached through the Business Avengers.