So taken was Sephora chief executive officer Guillaume Motte with the 2019 film “Woman,” which recorded conversations with nearly 2,000 women across 50 countries, that he commissioned director Anastasia Mikova to make a documentary about the global beauty retailer.
“We were the partners of the immersive exhibition based on the movie ‘Woman’ by Anastasia Mikova. This is how I met Anastasia, and she’s brilliant. The exhibition was incredibly strong,” he said over Zoom from his office in Paris. “Just after the film, I said, ‘Anastasia, I am pretty sure that we could be doing a great project together. I am sure that within the Sephora ecosystem, we have incredible stories to tell about the power of beauty and belonging.’”
A year and a half later, the finished product titled “Beauty & Belonging,” is gearing up for viewers. The trailer will be showcased at the brand’s Sephoria events in Atlanta Friday, Paris next month, and Rio de Janeiro in November, before its world premiere in February 2025 where it will be accessible on YouTube.
Shot in studios and real-life environments for six months across eight countries, the film is an immersion into conversations with more than 75 Sephora employees and founders of beauty brands. It explores individual experiences and perspectives on beauty such as the meaning of applying makeup for the first time, as well the importance of a diverse representation in society.
As part of the project, Sephora gave full freedom to Mikova to capture the essence of Sephora’s DNA through her camera, which Mott acknowledged is not the typical corporate way.
“I was touched by ‘Woman.’ When you’re touched, it’s an element of brain and heart and the balance between the brain and the heart is something only she can do,” he explained. “Because in ‘Woman,’ there were some really strong, really touching messages, and in no way could you reach the same result with a script or formal Q&A. If I want to do it, I want to be as touched. I want to see the same emotion so I better just let her be. This is why we gave Anastasia full freedom. It’s also part of our culture. We value authenticity.”
The film also includes testimonies from brand founders such as Christine Chang and Sarah Lee from Glow Recipe, Danessa Myricks from Danessa Myricks Beauty, Mario Dedivanovic from Makeup by Mario, Mathilde Thomas from Caudalie, and Akash and Nikita Mehta from Fable & Mane.
“We were very fortunate to have some brand founders be part of it,” added Motte. “With our beauty advisers, they are some of the people who have thought about the topic the most. As an example, when we gathered earlier this year to crystallize our purpose and values, Mario (Dedivanovic, founder of Makeup by Mario) came in person to give a speech to the worldwide leaders of Sephora. You can call any of the participants and ask them what they will remember. They will say Mario, Mario, Mario. Because his vision and his values are so strong. And he speaks from the heart.”
As for Mikova, her biggest takeaway was how inclusive she found the beauty world to be.
“I’m mostly working on social topics, and quite difficult topics in my films like stories of violence,” she told WWD. “So the beauty world is, let’s say, not the center of the things that I generally explore. And I was absolutely amazed by how inclusive this world is today, and how it’s a place, at least at Sephora, where everybody can express her or his or themselves. In these difficult times that we’re facing right now, it’s a very beautiful message.”
