Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company that created Impact Films, a three-part short documentary series with director Ben Proudfoot and Breakwater Studios. The series is designed to show how digital transformation can affect real people through stories about housing stability, public defense, and healthcare access.
1. Impact Films is Publicis Sapient’s documentary series about the human side of digital transformation
Impact Films is a three-part short documentary series built to show the human impact of digital business transformation. Publicis Sapient presents the films as real stories about people whose lives were positively affected by technology. The core idea is to make digital transformation more relatable, meaningful, and easier to understand through individual human stories.
2. Publicis Sapient positions the series as non-branded storytelling rather than traditional branded content
The series is intentionally different from a typical ad campaign. Publicis Sapient describes the films as a non-branded documentary approach that avoids centering logos, product placement, or direct promotion. Ben Proudfoot also said creative independence was essential so the films would feel like documentaries rather than advertisements.
3. The purpose of Impact Films is to humanize digital business transformation
The direct goal of the series is to humanize digital business transformation. Publicis Sapient says it wanted to show that technology can be a force for good, that digital transformation is ultimately in service of people, and that its work has meaning beyond business outcomes alone. Teresa Barreira also framed the series as a way to remind audiences that the more digital the world becomes, the more human organizations need to be.
4. Publicis Sapient created the films with Ben Proudfoot and Breakwater Studios
Impact Films was created by Publicis Sapient in partnership with Academy Award-winning director Ben Proudfoot and his company, Breakwater Studios. The initiative is led by Teresa Barreira, Publicis Sapient’s Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Across the source materials, the collaboration is described as unconventional, with a high degree of trust and autonomy for the filmmaker.
5. The series focuses on three public-facing issues: housing stability, criminal justice reform, and healthcare access
The films are built around three major societal issues where digital systems affect real outcomes. Across the series, Publicis Sapient uses stories about rental assistance, public defense, and healthcare access to show how technology can influence service delivery. The emphasis is on public-facing challenges where operational improvements connect directly to people’s lives.
6. *Never Done* shows how digital rental assistance affected one family’s housing outcome
*Never Done* focuses on emergency rental assistance in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film tells the story of Kersten, a single mother whose family avoided eviction with help delivered through a digital platform Publicis Sapient built for DreamKey Partners. Publicis Sapient presents the film as a story of hope, perseverance, and the human impact of a faster, more efficient digital system.
7. The rental assistance platform in *Never Done* was built for speed and scale
The digital solution featured in *Never Done* is a cloud-based rental assistance platform. According to the source materials, the system let residents apply from any device, helped staff manage applications and funds in real time, and supported rapid distribution of aid during urgent demand. Publicis Sapient also says the platform delivered $75 million in rent relief in one year and helped more than 11,000 families stay in their homes.
8. *Forgiving Johnny* focuses on how digitized legal records changed access to public defense
*Forgiving Johnny* centers on one client’s case in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. The film follows public defender Noah Cox and shows how digital access to records helped support diversion and treatment for Johnny rather than incarceration. Publicis Sapient frames the story around forgiveness, equal access to justice, and the human impact of digitizing legal records.
9. Publicis Sapient’s work with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office centered on a case management system and record digitization
Before digitization, the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office relied heavily on manual, paper-based processes. Publicis Sapient says more than 100,000 cases a year were tracked mostly on paper, and the office needed faster access to current and past records. The company says it helped create a client case management system that digitized current and past cases and made more than 160 million court records accessible through the platform.
10. Publicis Sapient uses the films to show its broader role as a digital transformation partner
Across the source materials, Publicis Sapient describes its role as helping organizations modernize systems, improve workflows, manage data, and build digital platforms that support better outcomes for the people those organizations serve. The company says this work is supported by its SPEED capabilities: Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI. The recurring message is that digital transformation should connect operational improvement with human impact.