Marriott Content Studio came to Culture House to create a series of films that were values first and bring to the screens in their hotel rooms, as well as a distribution deal with Amazon, impactful, entertainment forward stories that spotlighted travel as a means for change. In addition to the storytelling, Marriott was focused on building a team of vibrant storytellers and filmmakers with authentic POVs to the stories we were telling.
Focused on cultural change through film and television, we at Culture House, an Emmy nominated and Oscar Shortlisted documentary production company, were excited at the opportunity to tell a diverse array of stories in partnership with a major brand.
The resulting series is called “Power of Travel” encompassing 3 short films. Each film follows an inspirational individual who has dedicated their life and career to building communities across the United States and globally. From ensuring the safety of queer travelers, to using travel and nature as a medium through which to connect with one's culture, to creating safe spaces in the wine industry for BIPOC communities to show up as their true selves; each short film captures the journey taken, the roads traveled, and the time spent to create uplifting spaces, making travel accessible and enjoyable for all.
“The World in a Glass | Tahiirah Habibi of The Hue Society” explores the story of Tahiirah Habibi, one of only a few Black sommeliers in the United States, as she uses the knowledge she's gained from working in the wine space and the experiences she’s had through traveling to give back to the BIPOC community and ensure a better, more inclusive future for anyone who is interested in wine. We follow her to Miami and Sonoma to connect with winemakers and wine drinkers while hosting an event for a chapter of the organization she founded, Hue Society. While on her travels, Tahiirah shares her story and reflects upon how she navigated the industry, how she maintained her cultural identity while doing so, and how she is now able to bring together a global community.
Bringing this project to fruition was an incredibly collaborative and in depth process. We were careful and purposeful with who we cast, constantly taking into consideration the messages that would be highlighted in our films. During the months of casting, pre-production, production, and post we were conscious of the diverse nature of the stories we were trying to tell and worked to have diversity reflected behind the camera as well. With over 80% of our executive producers, producers, and director identifying as women and over 50% of them also being BIPOC, Tahiirah’s story was shaped with careful consideration of culture and intersectional identity. The diversity within our producers also extended to the crew with over 50% being BIPOC.
Throughout production, our main (and welcomed!) challenge/objective was ensuring that everyone involved, cast and crew, felt safe and comfortable. We were conscious of the diversity and make-up of our crew, and ensured that our locations we traveled to and the establishments we chose to film in, made everyone feel safe and able to focus on their work.
As we entered into post, we worked closely with Marriott Content Studio to make sure notes were addressed, messaging was clear, and remained mindful of who the story was representing and how it was being done.
In the end, emerged a final product that is reflective of Marriott’s brand values, Culture House’s ethos and a thoughtful story of individuals creating inclusive spaces and using travel as a catalyst for change.
This series is the first distribution collaboration between the Marriott Content Studio and Amazon Prime (the films are also available on Youtube). Marriott is at the forefront of getting their content distributed by big streamers in order to continue to reach audiences who have come to avoid traditional ads.
This series was high performing in terms of organic reach, and completion rates are very high versus their benchmarks. Comments and responses have shown that the series has been incredibly well received with audiences expressing their appreciation of a brand like Marriott representing stories in a conscious manner. As a production company who prides itself on doing this, we were incredibly happy to see the positive reception of not only the film itself, but the way it was told.
We are truly appreciative of individuals like Tahiirah sharing their stories with us and for a brand like Marriott, who is focused on powerful storytelling and allowing us to get impactful messages out into the world for global audiences through their platforms.
