Priyanka Chopra To Promote "Diverse Storytellers" Through New Production Venture

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s production house, Purple Pebble Pictures, has collaborated with ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Group to establish the First Time Directors programme for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) and women filmmakers. The programme will give the aforementioned communities a chance to helm around 50 films across Paramount Network, MTV, Comedy Central, and the Group’s portfolio. The actress said that she hopes to “tell diverse stories … From diverse storytellers” through the programme.

Chopra Jonas announced the collaboration by sharing a news article on Twitter:

Proud 🙏🏽@PurplePebblePic @ViacomCBS @Variety pic.twitter.com/bxrcUDo55a

— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) September 23, 2020

What You Should Know: 

• Priyanka Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures has collaborated with ViacomCBS for a programme that aims to encourage BIPOC and women filmmakers.
• The programme will give these communities a chance to helm around 50 films backed by reputable production houses. 
• The actress said that she hopes to “tell diverse stories … From diverse storytellers” through the programme.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra Named Indian Ambassador Of Toronto International Film Festival 2020

Programme To Encourage Diversity

Priyanka Chopra Jonas runs the production house with her mother, Madhu Chopra. The actress told Variety, “When I founded Purple Pebble Pictures our mission was clear, to create opportunities where there were few, and to tell global stories for global audiences irrespective of location and language.” The former Miss World Chopra went on to say that her production house has always prioritised content over everything else. She also commented that current entertainment offerings should reflect the world as “a melting pot of different races, ethnicities, and religions.”

Other high-profile executive producers like Idris Elba, John Leguizamo, Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, Courtney B. Vance, and Angela Basset are also part of the project. They will work with Nina L. Diaz, the Group’s president of content and chief creative officer, to identify their target directors and assign them projects. Furthermore, Chopra and other executive producers will also mentor the directors during the filmmaking process.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra Signs Multimillion-Dollar First Look TV Deal With Amazon

Priyanka Chopra’s International Ventures

Recently, Chopra was also in the news when she joined the series A World of Calm as one of the narrators. Set to be streamed on HBO Max, the series is reportedly based on the well-known mental-health app Calm. Co-produced by Nutopia, A World of Calm will have ten episodes of half-hour each. The episodes will attempt to offer peaceful experience to the viewers with stunning visuals and calming narration.

Besides Chopra, the series will also feature various other global stars. Some names include Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mahershala Ali, Oscar Isaac, Idris Elba, Nicole Kidman, Lucy Liu, Cillian Murphy, Zoë Kravitz, and Keanu Reeves.

Notably, earlier this year, Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures also announced its collaboration with Baltimore Pictures and Permut Presentations for a movie based on Ma Anand Sheela’s life. Reportedly, the movie, entitled Sheela, will stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Also Read: Evil Eye Trailer: This Priyanka Chopra Production Blends Superstition And Suspense

Tarini Gandhiok is an intern with SheThePeople.TV