We wanted to bring the problem closer to Finns by combining it with a very popular type of internet video among Western girls of the same age group: makeup tutorials. The goal was to show that no matter where a girl may come from, they have positive dreams, and that like girls everywhere they love to play.

We decided to shoot with professional child actors in Hollywood. We went through the sensitive subject with our selected child actors and their families beforehand and made sure that during the shoots we had time to take long breaks and to talk about the hard subject if needed.

To be as authentic as possible we allowed the kids to tell about the makeup in their own words and react as they would if they were forced to do something they didn’t want to.

The film was an immediate success. People in Finland were talking about our subject and shared the film widely – and also donated. Some of them were horrified, some just wanted to show empathy for this important matter by donating. We even raised international awareness, with magazines like Fast Company bringing our film up.