The_Hollywood_Reporter__February_07_2018

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Innovators, Events, Honors
Canada
Spotlight
How Canada Became a Springboard for Female
Directors Multiple government initiatives are pushing for
gender parity in the film business by 2020 By Etan Vlessing
JOLY: AMANDA EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES.
C
anadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau proudly displayed his progressive
bona fides three years
ago when he announced that his 30-member
Cabinet would be the country’s first
to represent men and women equally, 50-
50. When asked by a journalist why, he
made global headlines with his blunt reply:
“Because it’s 2015.”
Roughly a year later — and well before
the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements —
Telefilm Canada, the powerful, well-funded
film financing arm of the Canadian government,
followed Trudeau’s lead and unveiled
its own ambitious drive to achieve gender
parity in the film sector by 2020. The goal
was clear: The agency would choose which
films to finance based on whether projects
were directed by, or revolved around, women
(among other criteria).
The initiative already is having an effect:
A 2017 Telefilm study shows a 27 percent
increase in agency-backed projects directed by
women since 2015.
And it’s not just Telefilm: The National Film
Board of Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting
Corp. and the Canada Media Fund also have
unveiled plans to achieve gender parity by 2020.
But with its deep pockets — the agency
invests around $100 million annually
in homegrown filmmaking
— Telefilm is leading the way.
“There are systemic barriers to
Joly funding,” says Federal Heritage
Minister Melanie Joly, a close ally
of Trudeau. “We believe that we should, as a
feminist government, have a clear commitment
to overcome these barriers.”
The practical initiatives from Telefilm
include its Talent to Watch program, formerly
Illustration by Dan Woodger
the Micro-Budget Production Program.
Telefilm renamed and revamped the 5-yearold
micro-budget program in November
with a mandate to back 50 first-time and,
where possible, female-led features annually,
with investments capped at $120,000 for
each movie.
That in turn led organizers to consider
how they could help maintain a young filmmaker’s
momentum in the industry after
completion of that all-important first project.
So, also in late 2017, Telefilm unveiled its
Fast Track program, which assures $500,000
in second-feature financing for filmmakers
producing internationally recognized
first features.
To promote female voices and visions,
Telefilm, when considering funding for projects
of equal value — determined by such
factors as the script, talent attached and the
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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FEBRUARY 7, 2018