The Future is you and me

Hi friends,

After six years of The Future is You and Me, we’ve decided to close this chapter.

Today, The Future is so much more than just us. It’s dozens of women and non-binary folks of colour who have engaged with our programming. It’s our community of supporters that extends around the world. It’s the network of artists and organizers who are alongside us in this work to dismantle oppressive structures in the Canadian cultural sector. Since 2016, we’ve accomplished so much and so much has changed — ourselves, the sector, and the world.

As we write this, intersectional arts, feminist movements, and cultural activism have taken the main stage. There are many local groups and collectives led by women and non-binary folks that put anti-racism, disability justice, decolonization and Indigenous resurgence at the centre of their work. We are hopeful and inspired by what the future of the cultural sector will look like if these folks are at the helm.

The Future will live on online. One of our values is knowledge-sharing, so we’ve gathered a set of tools and resources that we hope will help folks in our community to kickstart their own projects. Read our announcement in full and to access the community resource library.

xoxo
Megan & Kristin
https://thefutureisyouandme.com/blog-1/2022/4/11/goodbyefornow

We would like to offer thanks for the opportunity to be able to share "A Seat at the Table" with our community. First of all, we thank our research participants for their honesty, for sharing their stories, and everything that they do to make the film and television industry better.

This work would not be possible without our partners Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society and Vancouver Foundation

Our work takes place on the ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations. As settlers, we recognize that this land was stolen and is occupied through various and evolving forms of colonial violence — of which we are often the beneficiaries.

These truths beget our responsibility to work in service of artists of the Host Nations, create culturally safe spaces for Indigenous creatives to thrive, and be accomplices in the and Idle No More movements.

Like the illustrations on BIWOCinfilm.com and social? They're the work of the brilliant Kaho Yoshida: kahoyoshida.com

The systemic barriers for Black, Indigenous, and other racialized women and non-binary people in the film and television industry have emotional and material impacts. Removing those barriers may require time, effort, and energy, but the solutions are not complicated.

Here are 4 things that you can work or ask for to make the industry safer, smarter, and more ethical.

If you could talk to an industry exec and recommend changes, what would you say?

When we oversimplify gender equity and diversity, we overlook the reality of lateral violence: when members of an oppressed group become the oppressor by directing abuse to ppl of their own gender, culture, etc. BIWOC film+TV creatives talk about it here: https://buff.ly/3nApAfV

Have you encountered lateral violence in the industry?

Lateral Violence — A Seat at the Table “Lateral violence” describes when members of an oppressed group become the oppressor by directing abuse to people of their own gender, culture, sexuality, or profession. Instead of directing their anger at the oppressor, these workplace or community aggressors direct their anger toward their p*e...

The lack of women of colour in leadership and decision-making roles is one of the reasons Canada's screen industries are .

"If you remind somebody of a younger them, they're probably gonna take a chance on you. That's just how this industry works. They're like, ‘I see something in you. You remind me of me, and I'm gonna take a chance on you.’ No white man is going to tell me that I remind them of them.”

Learn more:

Barriers to Breaking Into the Industry — A Seat at the Table ​​Breaking into the screen industries can be hard at the best of times. For BIWOC, getting a foot in the door can feel can feel like a pipe dream. The lack of representation on screen is both a symbol and symptom of how welcome BIWOC are in the industry.

Sometimes the chance to be on a jury, to program, to work on a film, etc. is the product of a superficial, misguided, or cynical diversity initiative. But it can *also* be a relatively rare opportunity to work, to be seen and heard, and to represent their communities. Is it better to opt out in the name of your values, or try to reform the current structures by disrupting them with your presence?

Explore what BIWOC in film + TV had to say about tokenism, diversity, and inclusion in our community research project, A Seat at the Table: https://buff.ly/2ZrDLLW

Tokenism and Stereotyping — A Seat at the Table While conversations about equity, representation, diversity, and inclusion have taken off in the media, participants noted a lack of meaningful inclusion of marginalized voices in the industry and a focus on the appearance of diversity instead.

Our recently released report, A Seat at the Table (BIWOCinfilm.com), was written by Future alum Tanvi Bhatia, and co-founders Kristin Cheung & Megan Lau. Thank you to Robyn Lee for notetaking and Emily Bailey for your facilitation!

A Seat at the Table — A community research project about BIWOC in TV & Film This community research report examines the barriers in the independent film sector in Metro Vancouver for people who are marginalized for their race and gender. This project is interested in the lived experience of participants and the interview process created space for sharing their experiences.

According to Women in View, "Of the 43% of women in key creative TV roles in 2019, only 6.44% were Black women & Women of Colour and 0.94% were Indigenous women."

BIWOC have something to say about that:

Research Findings — BIWOC in TV & Film — A Seat at the Table Research findings———The conversations in the focus groups and interviews were wide ranging. Though a set of inquiry questions were prepared (for a full list, see Appendix A), the participants directed the dialogue toward various topics, building on each other’s opinions and observations, pro...

Interested in learning more about the status of women of colour in the Canadian film+TV industry? Women in View's critical research documenting women's employment in Canada's publicly funded screen-based media were foundational resources for our work!

Reports Research and action on the role of women in Canadian media