To find 3 Saudi girls aged 11 to 16 who had never been on camera before was one challenge. To find 3 Saudi girls and their families that were comfortable appearing on camera talking about puberty, body changes and often very close family reactions to the girls growing up alongside issues with self-esteem was an incredibly difficult casting brief in Saudi Arabia and a great achievement from the casting director.

Puberty is really tough for any girl, but it is even tougher in a country where you can’t discuss it at all.

In KSA and growing up in a conservative environment, puberty is not discussed openly within anyone let alone the family, yet once it happens the girls are expected to grow up very fast.

This could be wearing an abaya for the first time in situations where before it didn’t matter, to comments and expectations from family members that are often vocalised directly to them. Body changes and self-esteem is not something that is discussed at school or in another safe environment either so these comments and expectations can really damage these girls.

In addition, because a lot of women come from quite conservative backgrounds, many are not prepared to go on camera, even within a traditional TVC environment without an Abaya. To talk openly about puberty to millions could be considered a taboo in society not just in Saudi but the whole of the Arab world. Alongside this to gain impact we needed to shoot these girls as girls rather than women who were expected to grow up overnight, this included filming them doing activities they would as girls and not wearing an abaya. To find families prepared to allow their girls to not only be filmed but to be filmed for this subject matter and in this environment was very challenging but absolutely key to such an important communication from Dove.

The film is crafted from shots and set ups that depict these girls lives and their interests to show their personality. These are interspersed with a famous Saudi graffiti artist writing words in calligraphy on huge canvases. Through interviews with the girls we build an audio bed that re-enforces some of the situations that they have been through, building an atmosphere of tension and anxiety.

As the film comes to a climax we reveal the huge canvas as these portraits covered in calligraphy of the girls.

The film moves into the second part, with a much more positive tone and the calligraphy shots are played out in reverse, removing these harsh words from the girls images.

The big reveal at the end is these beautiful portrait shots of the girls on billboards all over Riyadh, their confidence and beauty shining through.

Growing up, girls are bombarded with messages like fix your “frizzy hair” or “big nose”. Their friends, parents, social media, and even beauty products are a constant reminder of their imperfections.

This can lead to overwhelming self-doubt that makes it impossible to see their real beauty.

Dove has a mission to ensure the next generation grows up enjoying a positive relationship with the way they look.

Dove wanted to show this literally with beautiful portraits for girls covered up by those thoughts and words that ruin their confidence.

Dove’s message is always about empowering women & girls and celebrating their real beauty. They always feature real women, never models.

We needed to find 3 girls that had never been filmed before and were willing to discuss the challenges they face around self-esteem and have their image portrayed to millions of people.

The casting process was 3 fold:

1. Reaching out to find a long list of girls aged 11 to 16 who had never been on camera before, this was a key requirement from Dove. We reached out to family and friends of people we new as well as social media

2. Inviting these girls to a call back session with the casting director to discuss the nature of the film, the subject matter and their experience – we had quite a few drop out at this stage because of the nature of the filming being so challenging

3. 2nd call back with the director to discuss their experiences and develop a relationship to be able to move forward with final 3 selection and filming