The future is female for Toronto Film Fest’s Share Her Journey campaign

Last year the Toronto International Film Festival picked seven titles by female directors for its official selection of 20 films. Now, it’s launching a $3 million, 5-year campaign to support women in the industry.

The campaign aims to “prioritize gender parity with a focus on mentorship, skills development, media literacy, and activity for young people.”

“We acknowledge that gender inequity is systemic in the screen industries, so change has to happen at every level. That includes getting more women into key creative roles”, commented Cameron Bailey, the festival’s artistic director.

Kelly Fremon Craig’s The Edge of Seventeen, Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe, Deepa Mehta’s Anatomy of Violence, Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom, Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest, Erin Heidenreich’s Girl Unbound and An Insignificant Man, from Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla all screened as part of the main selection during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

“We plan to seek out, develop, and showcase top female talent in the industry through our festival and year-round initiatives. Our mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. One of the most powerful ways to do that is to foreground the perspectives of women”, Bailey adds.

The campaign, called “Share Her Journey”, will run three-month residencies for female directors as well as speaker series about the industry, and create resources for educators.

Share Her Journey already has a number of high profile advocates, including Nigerian filmmaker Omoni Oboli (Okafor’s Law), Carol Nguyen (This House Is Not Empty), Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes), and Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses).