Toronto film fest puts spotlight on need for female filmmakers and their stories
TORONTO — Red carpet glitz and celebrity ogling were momentarily supplanted by chants of “Women rock!” at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, when hundreds of film fans and filmmakers gathered to demand gender parity at a rousing street rally.
Speakers including actress and activist Geena Davis, inclusion expert Dr. Stacy L. Smith, actress Amanda Brugel and actress and #AfterMeToo co-founder Mia Kirshner issued a clarion call to directors, producers, writers, financiers and executives to support female voices.
Davis expressed delight at looking into an audience that appeared to be half men before detailing how the early viewing choices of her daughter inspired the work she does through her research-based group, the Geena Davis Institute of Gender in Media.
The “Thelma and Louise” star told the Share Her Journey rally that she began pushing for gender-balanced representation in media for little kids because of the dearth of female characters when her daughter was a toddler.