Inspiring Women’s March Short Film by RI Firm Garners International Accolades

Imaj Associates, Inc. has been honored with two prestigious international awards for their pro-bono short-film entitled, “This is What Democracy Looks Like,” produced for the Women’s March on Washington – Rhode Island Chapter.

Imaj set out to capture the spirit, motivation and messages of the thousands of Rhode Islanders who joined approximately 1 million marchers in Washington, DC on January 21, 2017. Imaj videographers and photographers marched alongside in solidarity on that day, to not only film and interview attendees, but to also stand against hate and disparagement of women, minorities and immigrants.

Imaj is particularly proud of the 2018 Communitas Award they won for the film.

“Winning a Communitas is a great honor,” says Imaj president, Jami Ouellette Morse. “This work is especially significant to us as we are committed to doing our part to create equity in our country and to better our world. We are honored to be recognized for this work that our entire team was so incredibly devoted to.”

Communitas recognizes exceptional businesses that are unselfishly giving of themselves and their resources, and those that are changing how they do business to benefit their communities. With this award, Imaj joins the ranks of other companies from around the world, including MasterCard, Honeywell and Toyota, in being recognized for their involvement in volunteerism, philanthropy or ethical, sustainable business practices. The spirit of “communitas”, a Latin word meaning people coming together for the good of a community, is exhibited in all works chosen by the judges to receive this great honor.

The short-film also won Imaj a Platinum 2017 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Awards (MEA), which recognizes companies for innovative and leading-edge creative work that uses strategy and results-based effectiveness to create solutions in today’s marketplace. A branch of the prestigious Summit International Awards, the Platinum level MEA is presented only to those entries achieving the highest degree of impact.

“When we offered to document this event, we immediately sensed the importance of it. Yet, we had no idea we would be telling the story of Rhode Island’s part in one of the largest protests in U.S. history,” says Jeff Morse, Lead Videographer and Vice President of Digital Media for Imaj. “It was an inspiring and challenging experience for all of us.”

“Videos and films take a tremendous amount of talent and teamwork,” says Jami Ouellette Morse, President and Founder of Imaj Associates. “With Jeff in the lead, we had two videographers doing interviews on the buses and four videographers/photographers capturing footage from the middle of a dense sea of people that literally went on for miles. There were impactful images and moments at every turn. At one point, we got incredibly lucky when some young men nearby suddenly broke out into song – The Star-Spangled Banner – and the crowd started singing with them. It inspired an overwhelming sense of sisterhood and brotherhood.”

The short film, which was part of an overall strategy that included a national social media campaign #WhyIMarch and #WhyWeMarchRI, continues to be used to reinvigorate the movement, to inspire hope, and encourage others to join in and become politically involved.