Netflix has launched a hands-on training program with imagineNATIVE as part of its Fund for Creative Equity.

The imagineNATIVE Production Mentorship Program gives Indigenous creatives paid, on-set training within the art department of productions in the Great Toronto Area, Hamilton and Sudbury, Ont.

The program was announced Thursday (April 27) as part of a 2023 update on Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity.

However, a cohort of participants has already taken part in the program, having been mentored last summer on the set of the film You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah!, which is directed by Sammi Cohen with Adam Sandler as star and producer.

Jamie-Lee Reardon, imagineNATIVE Institute manager, who was a panelist at a Netflix virtual symposium on Wednesday (April 26), said the program worked with local unions to certify participants to ensure they were paid union rates.

Reardon said participants learned about roles in set decorating, wardrobe and carpentry during the program. Organizers also helped to minimize barriers by not requiring previous direct on-set experience, and providing financial support for transportation and child care.

The Fund for Creative Equity is a five-year US$100 million initiative, which was launched in 2021. Netflix previously partnered with imagineNATIVE to provide $125,000 from the fund to set up a grant in honour of the late Mi’gmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby.

Netflix also published a study of the level of inclusion in its U.S. scripted series and films between 2018 and 2021.

The study found that Netflix had hit gender parity for its lead roles, with 55% of films and scripted series featuring “girls or women” as a lead or co-lead. The streamer also saw a marked improvement in the number of lead and co-lead roles held by members of underrepresented racial groups, coming to 47.5% in 2021 compared to 28.4% in 2018.

Netflix also saw an increase in LGBTQ+ representation in lead and co-lead roles in scripted series, hitting 35.8% in 2021 from 19% in 2018.

The study found Netflix still had far to go with disability representation, with zero series featuring a lead or co-lead with a disability in 2021, 2% as a main cast member, and 1.2% as a minor speaking character. The study compared the results with U.S. population statistics, which stated that 27.2% of the U.S. population identify as having a disability.

Similarly, the study said representation of the Latinx community in Netflix films was below the population average. Approximately 6.8% of films in 2021 had a Latinx lead or co-lead, while Latinx communities make up 12% of the U.S. population, according to the study.

Photo by George Pimentel, courtesy of Netflix