MONTREAL/TORONTO – Telefilm Canada on Thursday announced it has released its Indigenous Reconciliation Plan “as part of the continual nature of reconciliation and a desire to maintain a reciprocal relationship with Indigenous creators and partners,” according to a statement.
The plan was crafted through a collaborative process spanning over two years, gathering input from Telefilm’s Indigenous Working Group meetings, personal interactions with filmmakers, and dialogues with key Indigenous partner organizations, Telefilm says.
“As a living document, this plan will be informed by ongoing consultation, partnership, as well as industry and community needs. The intention is that this document will be updated every three years following the completion of previous initiatives in line with our commitments,” Telefilm’s statement reads.
The Indigenous Reconciliation Plan’s engagements “seek to incorporate an Indigenous-focused lens across the various areas of Telefilm Canada’s corporate mission to support the development, production, promotion and distribution of the screen-based industry in Canada,” Telefilm says in its plan.
The plan is structured around four core areas — strengthen, expand, engage and learn — reflecting the different aspects of Telefilm’s mission and operations, Telefilm says. For each of the four areas, Telefilm’s plan sets out its commitments for the next 18 months and next three years.
As part of its continuing commitment to strengthen support of Indigenous filmmakers across its programs and policies, Telefilm says in the next 18 months it will undertake the following engagements:
- Continuing annual assessment of Development and Production programs for barriers to access that may adversely affect Indigenous applicants
- Assessment of how to reduce the amount of paperwork and/or process steps required for accessing low-risk funds such as travel stipends
- Work closely with the Indigenous Screen Office as they consult with the industry on current best practices for Indigenous funding
- A continued commitment to engaging Indigenous perspectives in evaluation of all Indigenous content, regardless of the stream applied to
- A continued commitment to working from the principles of Indigenous narrative sovereignty, using the Protocols & Pathways Media Guide document as a foundational guide to these principles
In the next three years, Telefilm says it will undertake the implementation of any best practice recommendations that may be developed from the Indigenous Screen Office’s industry and community consultations, implement any recommended updates to Telefilm’s eligibility criteria for accessing Indigenous-specific funding, and implement a simplified process for accessing low-risk funds such as travel stipends.
In the “expand” quadrant of its plan, Telefilm says it will continue to expand Indigenous reconciliation efforts beyond the $4 million funding envelope for Indigenous projects. Specifically in the next 18 months, Telefilm says it will do the following:
- Establish potential areas of collaboration, relationship-building, and incentivization within Telefilm’s Marketing Program to build bridges between Indigenous clients and Canadian and international distributors
- Establish the parameters and scope of two business intelligence reports identifying the potential barriers to access for Indigenous creators across key Canadian partners outside of funding bodies, within both the English and French language markets
- Establish opportunities to integrate Indigenous perspectives and projects into Telefilm-sponsored festival panels, and at international and national markets where Telefilm is present
- Establish objectives for Indigenous involvement in Telefilm-sponsored festival panels
- Establish parameters for an annual Indigenous delegation to one key national and one key international festival where Telefilm has a presence
In the next three years, Telefilm says it will publish two business intelligence reports, looking at the English and French Canadian markets, on the potential barriers for Indigenous creators across key film ecosystem partners in Canada, including recommendations to reduce these barriers. In addition, Telefilm says it will implement objectives for Indigenous involvement in Telefilm-sponsored festival panels, and implement annual Indigenous delegations.
In terms of its “engage” commitments, Telefilm says in the next 18 months it will:
- Establish updated and refreshed mandate and composition of the Indigenous Working Group in order to facilitate the most meaningful and effective collaboration possible
- Hold annual meetings with the newly established Indigenous Working Group and establish a calendar for future meetings
- Continue efforts to reach Indigenous candidates for available positions by reviewing the current outreach strategy through an Indigenous lens
- Continue efforts to partner with Indigenous employment centres, schools and other organizations for Indigenous recruitment
- Establish if an Indigenous internship program for Telefilm is possible and what the parameters would be
In the next three years, Telefilm says it will undertake a review of the updated Indigenous Working Group model to determine successes and challenges over the last three years, as well as a review of Telefilm’s recruitment and outreach to determine if more Indigenous candidates have been interviewed and/or hired within the last three years. Telefilm also says it will implement an Indigenous internship program in the next three years.
Finally, in the “learn” area of its plan, Telefilm says it “will seek to ensure a culturally responsive experience for Indigenous clients and to foster an internal culture of openness and learning regarding Indigenous people in Canada.”
In keeping with that commitment, Telefilm says in the next 18 months it will:
- Initiate an annual internal anti-Indigenous racism and cultural awareness training program mandatory for all staff, in both language markets, that builds on previous information each year
- Make the annual presentation to staff during the month of June (National Indigenous History Month) mandatory
- Commission a short training video on Indigenous cultural competencies and micro-aggressions when on-boarding newly hired staff
- Regularly share success stories of Indigenous projects funded by Telefilm Canada with all staff
In the next three years, Telefilm says it will have all staff participating in ongoing Indigenous cultural awareness and anti-racism workshops as well as attending the annual June presentation. Furthermore, Telefilm will have commissioned a short video by an Indigenous cultural awareness worker in Canada that is part of all new staff’s on-boarding, and will be regularly sharing the success and diversity of Telefilm-funded Indigenous projects with all staff, Telefilm says.
