Gender Equity in Media Society Vancouver (GEMS) is a member-based organization committed to furthering gender equity in film and television. Previously named Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV), GEMS incorporated in 1989 as a not-for-profit society registered in British Columbia. By addressing systemic barriers, GEMS works towards supporting more inclusive, representative media.
GEMS Vancouver is a proud member of Women in Film & Television International, a global network of over 80 chapters, all working for the same goal: gender balance in the industry: https://www.wifti.net/membership/
Current programming includes:
The Emerging TV Producers Program ran its first year in 2022 and equips up to 10 women and gender-diverse filmmakers from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds with skills in the business of television production.
The Genre Film Lab (formerly “From Our Dark Side”), started in 2014 is a national program for the creation of genre feature films written by women and gender diverse people.
GEMS Reel Talks series presents film and television talks with professionals at varying career levels, and celebrates their achievements. These talks are virtual and open to the public.
Our Whistler Film Festival Market Preparation Program pairs one selected filmmaker with a mentor to prepare the mentee’s project to pitch at Whistler Film Festival’s industry market.
GEMS also works towards advancing gender equity by hosting GEMFest, our annual international film festival dedicated to platforming the work of women and gender-diverse filmmakers.
Gender inequity still remains in the screen-based industry, particularly for women and gender-diverse people from various intersectional communities including but not limited to LGBTQ2S+ , BIPOC, immigrant, Disabled, Neurodivergent, and lower-income. Women in View’s 7th On Screen Report (2023) examined the share of employment of women-identifying and non-binary key creatives in Canadian publicly funded English-language live action and documentary television series and feature films from 2019-2021. According to the Report, “while all women and gender diverse people face barriers to equality (relative to men), the distribution of access among women and gender diverse creatives tells a very different story. Parity statistics tend to reflect the experiences of white women, who, in this report, had between two and ten times the share of work of other women and gender diverse creatives” .
GEMS applies an intersectional lens to all approaches of designing and implementing programming and events, and is committed to continued growth and improvement as new information and understanding become available.
GEMS Vancouver is a proud member of Women in Film & Television International, a global network of over 80 chapters, all working for the same goal: gender balance in the industry: https://www.wifti.net/membership/
Current programming includes:
The Emerging TV Producers Program ran its first year in 2022 and equips up to 10 women and gender-diverse filmmakers from underrepresented or marginalized backgrounds with skills in the business of television production.
The Genre Film Lab (formerly “From Our Dark Side”), started in 2014 is a national program for the creation of genre feature films written by women and gender diverse people.
GEMS Reel Talks series presents film and television talks with professionals at varying career levels, and celebrates their achievements. These talks are virtual and open to the public.
Our Whistler Film Festival Market Preparation Program pairs one selected filmmaker with a mentor to prepare the mentee’s project to pitch at Whistler Film Festival’s industry market.
GEMS also works towards advancing gender equity by hosting GEMFest, our annual international film festival dedicated to platforming the work of women and gender-diverse filmmakers.
Gender inequity still remains in the screen-based industry, particularly for women and gender-diverse people from various intersectional communities including but not limited to LGBTQ2S+ , BIPOC, immigrant, Disabled, Neurodivergent, and lower-income. Women in View’s 7th On Screen Report (2023) examined the share of employment of women-identifying and non-binary key creatives in Canadian publicly funded English-language live action and documentary television series and feature films from 2019-2021. According to the Report, “while all women and gender diverse people face barriers to equality (relative to men), the distribution of access among women and gender diverse creatives tells a very different story. Parity statistics tend to reflect the experiences of white women, who, in this report, had between two and ten times the share of work of other women and gender diverse creatives” .
GEMS applies an intersectional lens to all approaches of designing and implementing programming and events, and is committed to continued growth and improvement as new information and understanding become available.
Contact
Gender Equity in Media Society Vancouver
202 - 1965 W 4th Ave
V6B 1H7
Vancouver BC, CA
gemsvancouver.org
operations@gemsvancouver.org
Map
V6B 1H7
Vancouver BC, CA