The National Film Board of Canada has confirmed its dedication to equality behind the camera.
Government film commissioner and National Film Board of Canada (NFB) chairperson Claude Joli-Coeur announced Tuesday at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival that productions with women at the helm will make up at least half of the NFB's projects. Additionally, half of all budgets will be distributed to films with women behind the camera.
Joli-Coeur endorses the NFB’s commitment to full gender parity with the hope that the rest of the industry will follow suit.
“The NFB has always taken a leadership role in women’s filmmaking,” Joli-Coeur said. “In our current fiscal year, films directed by women represent half of our total spending on production. In 2016‒2017, the numbers are projected to be well above that.”
One recent report from non-profit organization Women in View found that women only represented 17 percent of directors, 22 percent of writers, and 12 percent of cinematographers in the Canadian film industry from a sample of 91 feature-length films produced between 2013 and 2014. These NFB efforts ensure that progress will be made over the next three years. The public can observe headway made through updates on NFB’s website which will specify budgetary allocations.
The NFB is currently finishing several films by women set for release, including Zayne Akyol’s documentary “Terre de Roses, Mon Nom Est Gulîstan,” Ann Marie Fleming’s animated feature “Window Horses,” and Anjali Nayar’s documentary “Gun Runners.”
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