Women call for "inclusivity" in Toronto Film Festival

CAIRO Sept 9 (SEE): A study into film reviewers' demographic profiles said that women of colour were "written off" as film critics, they were also denied from reviewing major film releases, according to the Washington Post.

Analysis of more than 59,000 film reviews are written by around 2,400 critics found stark disparities in gender and race, Dr Stacy L Smith of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative said on Friday.

"Male critics had written 78.7% of the reviews assessed, while women had written 21.3% of them", she added.

"We need to be conscious of our bias and do our part to make sure that everyone is in the room," Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson said at a Los Angeles awards ceremony to support Dr Smith and her team.

Women filmmakers, activists and actors gathered outside the hub of the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday to protest underpresentation of women in the movie industry.  They were wearing buttons that proclaimed “TIFF I Stand With Women,” while carrying signs that read “men of quality don’t fear equality” .

The “Share Her Journey Rally” was  attended by hundreds of women such as actresses Geena Davis and Mia Kirshner, directors Nandita Das and Amma Asante.

Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Geena Davis said that there will be no more missed opportunities for women.

“Given all the problems that we have in our world, all the sectors of society where there’s tremendous gender inequality, the one area that can be fixed overnight is on-screen,” she said.

Furthermore, co-head of the Toronto Film Festival Cameron Bailey signed an inclusive pledge to achieve gender equality in the festival’s executive ranks and on its board of directors by 2020.

A campaign called "So Not Cool" was launched by the Directors Guild of Canada for urging cast and crew members to speak out if they witness harassment, bullying or violence on a set.