Telefilm Canada has announced it will form an Authentic Storytelling subcommittee in the wake of a “harmful comment” made during a Canadian Screen Awards acceptance speech earlier this month.

The subcommittee will “establish an industry standard and best practices for what is a meaningful level of understanding and engagement with a community to tell their story respectfully and authentically,” a spokesperson for Telefilm told Playback Daily.

The work will take cues from existing studies and guidelines, including the On-Screen Protocols and Pathways guideline on narrative sovereignty, commissioned by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, and the Being Seen report from the Black Screen Office (BSO).

The federal funder has not set members of the subcommittee yet, but plans to build on its existing model from past groups formed around diverse languages and data collection, which were comprised of Telefilm department and industry organization representatives. Telefilm has not set an initial meeting date as of press time.

As part of the announcement, Telefilm shared a statement on the controversial acceptance speech from Oscar Peterson: Black + White director Barry Avrich on April 4, during Canadian Screen Week, where he stated “it doesn’t matter who tells [Black stories].”

“Telefilm would like to take this opportunity to oppose the harmful comment that was made during Canadian Screen Week,” read the statement. “It does matter where stories come from, who tells them, and how. Telefilm also supports the organizations that spoke up against the remarks. While Telefilm shared its support directly with these organizations, we recognize the importance of making these statements publicly.”

A joint letter from nearly 20 organizations such as BIPOC TV & Film, the Reelworld Screen Institute and the BSO was sent to the Academy of Canadian Canada & Television on April 7, stating the speech was “unacceptable, retraumatizing and harmful.” The organizations called for the industry to utilize standards around narrative sovereignty for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples for stories around racialized individuals.

Avrich issued an apology shortly after. “I am truly sorry I misspoke, causing my words to be misinterpreted as anything but support for Black creatives telling their stories,” he wrote.

The creation of the subcommittee came shortly before the funder announced that CEO and executive director Christa Dickenson will step down from Telefilm, with the board now looking for her replacement in a transitional period before she departs on Sept. 9.

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