TIFF celebrates Every Story fund milestones, thanks Partners and Donors; OVO signs on as new Every Story Partner Sophomore fund underwrites 4,500+ Memberships, accreditation for 70+ journalists, and expands programming for diverse voices

TIFF is celebrating key milestones since launching Every Story and is thanking fund Founding Partner NBCUniversal; and partners Getty Images, Hudson’s Bay, Rotten Tomatoes, Universal Music Canada, and UPS for helping reach its one-year goal to support and amplify film’s diverse voices and audiences. TIFF also thanks the 250 individual donors who have stepped up to support the fund, with every dollar generously matched by NBCUniversal. Every Story promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film by challenging the status quo; celebrating diversity; and creating opportunities for equity-seeking creators, and expands upon TIFF’s integrated initiative in support of women in film, Share Her Journey.

“Every Story shouldn’t need to exist,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Every one of us should expect to see something of ourselves reflected on screen. No talented screen storyteller should face barriers of systemic discrimination. Until that day comes, TIFF is committed to reducing barriers and creating new opportunities for talented, underrepresented creators through Every Story.”

To kick off the second year of the fund, TIFF is pleased to announce it has signed on October’s Very Own (OVO®) as a new partner. Through this partnership, OVO® and TIFF will be releasing a capsule collection with a portion of the proceeds going to the Every Story fund. The capsule collection will be available both through the TIFF shop at 350 King St W and online at https://ca.octobersveryown.com/.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with OVO on such a meaningful brand collaboration in support of the Every Story Fund,” stated Elisabeth Burks, Vice President of Partnerships at TIFF. “Bringing together two Toronto-borne brands who have found their places on the world stage is an appropriate celebration of our shared values and commitments to advance diverse talent and create global platforms for them to share their stories, whether expressed through film or music”.

Since its launch last year, the Every Story fund has made possible 4,300 free Under-25 TIFF passes and 226 free TIFF Memberships to community partners, generously supported by Ana P. Lopes C.M. & Don Tapscott C.M. Also, 74 journalists have been enrolled in TIFF’s Media Inclusion Initiative, which includes accreditation for equity-seeking film journalists and critics and mentorship opportunities with experienced members of the TIFF press corps, thanks to the continued support of NBCUniversal and Rotten Tomatoes. Since its inception in 2018, the TIFF Media Inclusion Initiative has worked to achieve both a more balanced, equitable, and diverse press corps, and to remove the tangible and intangible barriers that challenge equity-seeking press wishing to cover the Festival. This initiative provides additional support and specialized programming for new members of the press identifying as equity-seeking. TIFF implores editors, producers, and decision-makers to consider the diversity of press members being staffed to cover this year’s Festival.

Four Every Story Filmmaker Lab Fellowships have also been announced, including the recently announced Every Story People’s Fellowship. Additionally, TIFF Filmmaker Lab provides 20 Canadian and international directors with an exceptional professional development experience at the Toronto International Film Festival and an introduction to the global community of filmmaking. Over a five-day period, participants have the opportunity to interact with and learn from internationally acclaimed mentors and programme governors including Ramin Bahrani, Deepa Mehta, and Roger Ross Williams. The participants will also be joined by guest speakers that include Official Selection filmmakers Sally El Hosaini, Nikyatu Jusu, Cristian Mungiu, and Clement Virgo. In addition to the programming, fellowships generously sponsored by Share Her Journey and For the Love of Film donors include accomodation, accreditation to the Festival and a travel allowance. 

The following programmes and events taking place during the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival have been made possible by Every Story and Share Her Journey donors and supporters:   

Inaugural CHANEL Women Micro Talent Summit 
As part of Share Her Journey, the CHANEL Women Writers’ Network supports a year-round programme to advance the careers of women and non-binary alumni of TIFF Writers’ Studio. New this year, the CHANEL Women Writers’ Network Micro Talent Summit is a one-day intensive programme designed to inspire and support storytelling by connecting the participants with leading industry professionals. 

PERSPECTIVES Narrative Sovereignty: From Slashers to Sci-Fi: Exploring The Significance of Indigenous Genre Films
In recent years, Indigenous-made genre films have captivated audiences worldwide while also becoming an ever increasing component of global Indigenous Cinema. From stories based on Indigenous cultural beings to alien invasion, these films are transforming the scope of the Indigenous film sector while also embodying and reflecting Indigenous cultures and communities. This year’s Narrative Sovereignty panel explores how Indigenous-made genre films are contributing to the diversification of the sector, while also finding new global audiences for Indigenous stories. Panellists include Nyla Innuksuk (director of Slash/Back), Darlene Naponse (director of Stellar), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (director and actor; Stellar, Night Raiders, Blood Quantum), and Sonya Ballantyne (filmmaker and genre enthusiast), along with moderator Bird Runningwater (producer). 

CONNECTIONS The ReFrame ReSource
​​ReFrame, the systemic change project launched by the Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles (WIF), is building an online hub of actionable tools for creatives and other film and television professionals seeking to build a more inclusive and equitable industry. Join ReFrame and other media advocacy leaders in an interactive session to explore and expand on the soon-to-be-launched ReFrame ReSource. TIFF Connections series are generously supported by Tecnológico de Monterrey.
 
SPOTLIGHT 2022 Breaking Through The Lens Finalist Presentations
Breaking Through The Lens (BTTL) is a grassroots initiative focused on measurable actions to overcome the greatest barrier to women and non-binary directors ― access to finance. From more than 300 submissions across 54 countries, 10 feature films in late stage development have been selected to pitch in front of leading sales, distribution, and investment executives during this one-hour programme. BTTL is proudly sponsored by One Two Twenty Entertainment, Ramo Law, Concord Originals and TIFF’s Share Her Journey campaign. There is a shift occurring in the film industry, a moment that must be seized, and it will be deeds not words that bring about this change. Inclusivity is not a trend ― it is the new way of doing business.

VISIONARIES Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton
A Share Her Journey initiative generously supported by Betty-Ann Heggie.
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton join us for an in-depth conversation to discuss their new Apple documentary series Gutsy, based on The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience and produced by their production company HiddenLight.

VISIONARIES What Laura Poitras Learned from Nan Goldin
Oscar winning director Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) discusses what she learned over three years in the making of her new film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. The film profiles the artist Nan Goldin, who has campaigned for museums to disassociate from the patronage of the Sackler family, owners of the opioid company Purdue Pharma.

DIALOGUES Covering Afghanistan for In Her Hands
A Share Her Journey initiative generously supported by Betty-Ann Heggie.
The new documentary In Her Hands focuses on Afghanistan’s youngest woman mayor, Zarifa Ghafari, during the tumultuous period of the Taliban’s return to power. Filmmakers Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen share clips while reflecting on the challenges of filming under wartime conditions.

TIFF Tribute Awards
Now in its fourth year, the TIFF Tribute Awards presented by BVLGARI honours the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and a below-the-line artist and creator. The Awards event serves as TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser to support TIFF’s Every Story fund and is taking place on Sunday, September 11 at Fairmont Royal York. This year, celebrated actor Michelle Yeoh will receive the inaugural TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award presented by BVLGARI. The award recognizes a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact for women throughout their career. 

Today, TIFF is launching year two of the Every Story fund campaign with the goal to create even more opportunities for filmmakers to tell their stories, and for all audiences to see themselves on screen. At this year’s Festival, 40% of the directors are women and 96 directors advised TIFF that they are Black, Indigenous, or a person of colour. 

Anyone can support Every Story and the communities it serves by visiting TIFF’s tiptap terminals in the Festival footprint, or at tiff.net/supporteverystory. 

For more information, please see tiff.net.