With that mind-frame comes the new initiative at TIFF called Share Her Journey. It’s a 5-year commitment to women in film to “...prioritize gender parity with a focus on mentorship, skills development, media literacy, and activity for young people.” Ten creative and successful women “ambassadors” are developing these initiatives and the effects can be seen in just one year. From 2016-17 at TIFF, women in the director’s chair rose from 29% to 33.6% in the feature film category. While we still need to see the national numbers increase significantly, as only 7% of the top 250 films of 2016 were directed by women, TIFF is giving women the start and boost they need. Ambassador and documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal, said, “When we have these woefully pathetic numbers in terms of how women are represented in the [film] industry, the only way those things will start to change is from these kinds of complex and concerted efforts... to try to lift up this constituency into a more equitable position...This initiative has the capacity to really make a difference.”
Attending the 2017 TIFF was an extraordinary experience and I’m thrilled to share my reviews, recommendations, and anticipated film highlights by women.
“Battle of the Sexes” is the true story of the infamous tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell. The film captures the personalities and private lives of these larger than life athletes as they battle sexism and sexuality on and off the tennis court. Valerie Faris co-directs this unusual real-life battle.