SWIFT summit to fortify the female film jobs

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This article was published 17/11/2021 (1409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s film industry needs more women. Those involved in workforce development are hopeful that a first-of-its-kind conference will bring greater diversity to the province’s film sets.

On Tuesday, Film Training Manitoba unveiled details of the Summit for Women in Film Trades (SWIFT), which will take place at Red River College Polytechnic’s new Innovation Centre from Jan. 14 to 16, 2022.

“When you see people who are like you, it makes it that much easier,” says Carrie Wilkins, chair of the SWIFT board. “There are certain trades within the film industry that are more male-dominated than others and I just think the more diverse a team, the better the end result.”

Currently, less than 30 per cent of people working in trades positions within the film industry identify as women. While areas like hair and makeup tend to employ more female staff, there is less representation when it comes to lighting, camera operation, production design, set work and construction.

The goal of the conference — which is the first in Canada to focus on film trades — is to encourage more women to join the industry while providing training and networking opportunities for current female film professionals.

“We’re going to be focusing on letting people know all the different skill sets that film trades encompass,” Wilkins says. “And how we can support each other as women within the industry.”

Wilkins is the chief financial officer for UNIT204 Production Services and a relative newcomer to the film world; having worked in the business sector for years before making a career change four years ago. While gender parity has become a focus within the film industry, she says barriers still exist for women.

“We tend to be still primarily responsible for the home, so finding that work-life balance is important,” she says. “I’ve had no problem finding women mentors in this business, but it’s (important) to give that skill set to women to go out and ask for those mentors and understand how you can promote yourself within the industry.”

The first day of SWIFT will be dedicated to those interested in pursuing a film career and will include a full-day course on set orientation, safety awareness and respect in the workplace. The remainder of the conference will be reserved for female industry professionals and include panel discussions and training seminars on career advancement, assertiveness and health and wellness. Event planning was done in consultation with a committee of 15 women from different areas of the film industry.

“They really communicated the exact types of programming that they wanted to have,” says Adam Smoluk, managing director of Film Training Manitoba.

Manitoba hosted 61 film projects in the last fiscal year and there is growing demand for local skilled workers. Otherwise, productions are forced to bring in crew members from elsewhere.

“It does have potential economic challenges for industry, because when you want to carry out large scale film productions, there’s a cost to bring people from out of province to fill those labour voids,” Smoluk says. “If you can improve on (the percentage of female staff), you’re going to do a lot as an organization to bring more people into the industry and deal with that.”

Film Training Manitoba has also funded 10 four-week paid internships within the film industry for attendees to the first day of SWIFT. Visit filmtraining.mb.ca for more information and to register — there are 40 complimentary registrations available on a first-come first-serve basis.

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney