Radical tells a deeply moving true story that highlights a widespread challenge: potential is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Following a teacher in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, who takes a radical approach to his overlooked and resigned students, Radical shows how the influence of a teacher combined with the power of a supportive school can unlock a child’s potential and even transform their life.
As the worldwide leaders at the intersection of impact entertainment, Participant utilized the film and accompanying campaign to elevate conversations and spark change within the field of education.
With the support of our film partners at Pantelion 2.0, 3Pas, and TelevisiaUnivision, the Radical campaign bolstered the work of people and institutions leading a movement to transform education.
The goals of the campaign were twofold: drive additional word of mouth buzz around the film, and advance equitable access to educational opportunities for Latino youth.
With these goals in mind, Participant and partners focused on festivals, key press moments, a social media campaign spotlighting educators with global star Eugenio Derbez and impact-driving content creators, a screening series with the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and a partnership to establish the Radical Fund with Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP).
Following an award-winning premiere at Sundance Film Festival, the film continued to screen at festivals across the globe including AFI Latin American Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, and Newport Beach Film Festival.
Continued success at festivals and word of mouth promotion was bolstered by key press moments and a social media campaign. Radical star and producer Eugenio Derbez was featured on NPR, Good Morning America, KTLA, and he was named to The Hollywood reporter’s “Most Powerful Latin Players in Film, TV, and Music” list.
To bring this momentum online, Participant kicked off the celebratory #MyRadicalTeacher series on social media with stars of the film, content creators, and activists. Eugenio Derbez kicked off the social media conversation about how everyone has a teacher that made a radical difference in their life. Astronaut Kellie Gerardi, comedian Leo Gonzalez, and more across the globe responded with their own stories of incredible educators that made a difference when they were students.
The campaign partnered with the NEA & AFT, the two largest unions in the U.S., to develop a screening program for educators and administrators. Some of those screenings were followed by panel discussions surrounding asset based vs. deficit based learning, the value of community schools, and more.
In addition, working with HIP, Participant helped launch the Radical Fund to directly support students and educators across the country. Leveraging HIP’s platform HIPGIVE and the film’s success across the globe, the team identified eleven organizations working to close the achievement gap for Latinx students through school retention, graduation, STEAM, leadership development and healing-centered strategies.
Conversation around Radical took off on social media, driving over 1.8 million impressions, 2 million video views, and 47k total engagements. Videos featuring stars and friends of the film including Eva Longoria helped amplify the call to actions and elevated the conversation on various platforms.
Radical was not just a success on social media but at many of the festival screenings, winning five awards between Sundance, Mill Valley Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and the Heartland Film Festival.
Additional champions of the film included Adam Sandler, Edward James Olmos, and Yalitza Aparicio who each hosted tastemaker screenings for key audiences as the film made a splash in theaters.
The collaboration with the NEA & AFT organized thirteen screenings in twelve cities for teacher membership. These screenings provided an opportunity for teachers to see themselves reflected on the big screen in community and also share about the film with their peers, family and friends. In addition to the screening program, Participant worked with the NEA to build a custom discussion guide for NEA members. This discussion guide included resources showcasing the community school model.
The Radical Fund raised money and brought awareness to twelve organizations that provide opportunities for future generations. The buzz around the film and the heart of the story provided a key platform to amplify their important work, and support real change.
