• The moral of each story should highlight a commitment to social justice. Viewers should leave the story with a reinforced idea of social justice imperatives and a need for collective action. Ideally, that includes a commitment to change.

• Center the lived experiences of subjects with dignity, in ways that are culturally authentic. There must be care and compassion in the image-making, ensuring each subject’s safety, dignity and well being.

• Include historical, cultural, political, geographic, and economic context shaping the storyline. Represent subjects at their full multi-faceted complexity with backstory, avoiding caricatures at all costs.

• Center the subject’s agency over their own situation. We must recognize the subjects of our images and stories as active contributors and stakeholders in our story development and portrayal. We honor their agency over the narrative.

• Challenge harmful ideologies that perpetuate social inequalities and stereotypes. Challenge and dismantle narratives that degrade marginalized communities and disrupt power dynamics that are rooted in colonialism, racism and patriarchal norms at any opportunity. Acknowledge our own privilege and power dynamics at play in any situation. Choose to uplift marginalized voices whenever possible.

• Be authentic and truth seeking in all aspects of story formulation. We will not knowingly misrepresent the individual, situation, context, or location of an image or story.

• Diversify within the collective of storytelling voices. If not possible to have a collective story formation, rely on consultants and thought leaders’ feedback from varying cultural backgrounds.

• Approach partner organizations with research and fact-based analysis. Understanding a social justice topic is fundamental before assembling a narrative to avoid confusion, misinformation or adversity to the cause. Hire analysts and experts in an applicable field of social justice when necessary. Engage with in-depth interviews and information gathering.

• Evaluate alternative solutions and disruptive frameworks. Through the use of test audiences and research, engage with all possible outcomes of a message campaign before presentation.

• Consent throughout the narrative and image-making process is non-negotiable. No individual, collective or other subjective entity will be included in a narrative without consent to be documented and proliferated in a digital and/or physical storytelling medium. When possible, have the subject propose their own feedback and approval of material.

We view every project as a partnership, not a transaction. Our team works alongside communications staff, organizers, and community leaders to ensure stories align with both movement strategy and lived reality.

Clients are involved at key moments throughout development, production, and post-production—without being burdened by logistical complexity.

Counter Story Collective brings film-industry rigor to every project. From pre-production planning to post-production delivery, we maintain high technical and editorial standards while remaining adaptable to real-world conditions.

Our team manages logistics, crew coordination, equipment, and timelines to ensure efficient, respectful, and high-quality production environments.