This week, Brie Larson made headlines talking about diversity in film criticism. She referenced a report that was published detailing how white males dominate the film critics community. And as part of her speech, she mentioned how festivals such as Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival were making pledges to increase the number of diverse film writers that would be attending the events.
READ MORE: Brie Larson Calls For More Diversity In Film Criticism
Now, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, Andréa Grau, TIFF’s vice-president of public relations and corporate affairs, talks about the ways that her festival will increase the number of underrepresented film critics.
“Part of our job is to stay on top of what the conversations are out there, and the new journalists who are coming up who need a spotlight,” says Grau. “Some may have the means to come independently, some may need support, and we’re going to try to help them financially.”
“The thing that we come up against as a charitable organization is resources, so it’s interesting that through programs like Share Her Journey, we can use some of those funds to bring in female critics, which is part of that 20 percent mentioned by Brie,” she continued. “The other part is people of color, an initiative which has been on TIFF’s radar for some time, but the urgency for it has become more evident. So we became more focused on hard numbers and how we’re going to do it.”
The Share Her Journey campaign is an initiative from TIFF that focuses on trying to increase the opportunities for women in film, in all parts of the industry. As of June, the campaign has raised almost $1 million. TIFF hopes to raise $3 million by 2022. Now, it appears that a portion of the funds will go towards travel and accommodations for the press that wouldn’t be able to make the festival, otherwise.
“That report illustrates exactly what we’re up against,” Grau says. “It’s become more evident of what our role is. Festivals showcase the best cinema of the world, but we also have to showcase the range of voices talking about these films.”
While increasing the number of press attendees might seem like a great idea on paper, there are some that are concerned that means fewer opportunities for other journalists to nab press passes. Grau says that since their press numbers haven’t increased dramatically in recent years, they can invite new journalists without anyone else losing accreditation.
She also is calling on other festivals to follow suit. “I think more festivals should make this pledge,” Grau says. “We want to join hands and make a difference with other festivals.”
Time will tell if any of the other 2018 festivals follow TIFF’s lead.