SHE SPOTLIGHT: Svetlana Serigny on Making the Invisible Visible Through Storytelling

Svetlana Serigny

Documentary Producer / Author / SpeakerBased in Cannes, France @svetpanuta

In this SHE SPOTLIGHT, with Svetlana Serigny, a documentary producer, author and speaker whose work is rooted in lived experience and driven by a mission to shift perspectives on disability, resilience and caregiving.

Entering the industry outside traditional pathways, Svetlana uses storytelling as a tool for impact. Her work brings deeply personal realities into public conversation, creating space for families and caregivers whose experiences are too often overlooked.

Svetlana, tell us about your journey and the mission behind your work.

I am a documentary producer, author and speaker.

I did not enter the film industry through a traditional path. I came into it because of my son. At four years old, he survived a cardiac arrest, 25 minutes without a heartbeat, something most children do not survive.

This experience did not just change my life, it gave me a voice and a mission.

I use film as a tool to shift perspectives on disability, resilience and what happens after survival.

My work is about making the invisible visible, especially the reality of families and caregivers that society often overlooks.

What are you building right now, and why does it matter?

Right now, I am expanding my work beyond film into conferences and public speaking, especially within companies and institutions.

I am building a bridge between personal experience and collective awareness.

In France alone, there are over 11 million caregivers, most of them invisible in the workplace. This has a direct impact on performance, wellbeing and retention, yet it is still largely ignored.

My role is not to train, but to create a shift. A moment of awareness that makes people see differently. Because once you see, you cannot unsee.

What is something about your journey that people may not see from the outside?

What people do not see is the complexity behind the word “resilience.”

After my son survived, the real journey began. Years of uncertainty, decisions, research and constant adaptation. I had to navigate medical systems, explore therapies worldwide and make choices without clear answers.

There is no roadmap for this kind of life.

What also remains invisible is the mental load: being a parent, a decision-maker, a researcher and, at the same time, holding everything together.

This experience shaped not only my work, but my way of thinking, acting and building.

What does Cannes represent to you at this point in your journey?

Cannes represents a turning point.

It is where I move from a personal story to a public platform. From something intimate to something that can reach a wider audience and create impact.

I do not come from the film industry, so being there is already a strong step.

What I am looking for is connection: with festivals, collaborators and people who believe in meaningful storytelling. I want to bring this story into spaces where it can resonate, open conversations and shift perceptions.

What does building collective power mean to you in practice?

For me, building collective power means connecting people who usually do not meet.

Families, filmmakers, companies and researchers. Everyone holds a piece of the reality, but they rarely interact.

My work is about creating those bridges.

I am looking to connect with people and organisations who want to create impact: festivals, producers, companies open to new narratives and partners who understand that stories like this are not just personal, they are societal.

Because real change does not happen alone. It happens when stories become shared.

“Once you see, you cannot unsee.” - Svetlana Serigny