Women in View folds into St. John’s women’s film festival

The St. John's International Women's Film Festival is the new home of the gender equity organization.

The St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) is the new home of the not-for-profit group Women In View.

SJIWFF announced Thursday (Aug. 21) that it will fold in Women in View “as the foundation of a future research arm” of a gender equity film institute, according to a news release.

The merger of the two organizations will help SJIWFF “expand its programming and advocacy efforts” and create more opportunities for women and gender-diverse creators in the Canadian screen sector.

As part of the move, the Women in View board of directors will become an advisory committee at SJIWFF in the next year. The Festival will leverage “Women In View’s expertise to develop new initiatives that address the challenges and opportunities facing women and gender-diverse creators in the industry today,” said the release.

Additional details about the institute will be shared closer to the start of SJIWFF, which runs from Oct. 22 to 26.

Women in View publishes the On Screen Report, which measures the progress for gender equity in the Canadian film and TV industry, looking at opportunities for women and gender-diverse writers, directors, producers and cinematographers. The reports also measure the disparity in opportunities for women and gender-diverse key creatives who are Black, Indigenous or a person of colour.

SJIWFF was founded in 1989 and is billed as one of the world’s longest-running women’s film festivals. The annual event includes a film programme and its industry-geared Film Forum.

“Bringing Women In View under the SJIWFF umbrella amplifies our collective dedication and impact to advance equity and inclusion within the screen-based industry,” said SJIWFF executive director Jenn Brown  in a statement. “We are committed to breaking barriers and ensuring that women and gender-diverse filmmakers, along with their stories, are prominently represented on every screen.”

Women in View board members Sharon McGowan and Jan Miller added in a joint statement that “the national groundwork laid by our organization over the past twelve years is in very good hands as it moves under SJIWFF to continue its very important work.”

Image courtesy of SJIWFF, executive director Jenn Brown pictured