The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has committed to ensuring that by the end of March 2025, more than 30% of its productions and coproductions underway at the time will be directed by artists and filmmakers who self-identify as Black and people of colour.

The NFB says the 30% figure represents the minimum expected outcome, as the body continues to evolve alongside Canadian society’s diversity.

“The NFB is committed to following best practices and policies to ensure equitable representation at all levels, both in front of and behind the camera,” said government film commissioner and NFB chairperson Suzanne Guèvremont in a statement. “Last April, we released a self-declaration questionnaire to respectfully collect data on the community of creators and creative partners. The data gathered will allow us to give those who have been historically underrepresented.”

The confidential and non-mandatory questionnaire is sent to filmmakers and production teams working on NFB projects. Its goal is to help the NFB identify under-represented groups and assist in the evaluation and planning of initiatives designed to meet the NFB’s commitments to equitable representation, while keeping the information confidential.

Then-commissioner Claude Joli-Coeur told Playback Daily last year that the NFB delayed its previous plan to launch the survey at the start of fiscal 2022 due to complications implementing it within the organization’s existing workflow.

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