The Toronto International film Festival on Monday announced that there will a sisters’ march this year at the annual film festival dubbed, ‘Share her journey’. The march will spotlight systematic inequality faced by women in the film industry.
The ‘Share her journey’ rally will be held on the fest’s first weekend, Saturday, September 8, along the King Street, in front of the TIFF Bell Lightbox headquarters. Maxine Bailey, VP advancement at TIFF said in a statement that the women’s march would protest gender inequality and sexual harassment in the film industry in the wake of allegations and criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein and other industry heavyweights.
“In the past year, the #MeToo movement, Time’s Up and several high profile criminal prosecutions have exposed a harsh reality about the film industry. It’s a reality that women have known about for generations, but it’s finally getting the attention it deserves,” said Bailey.
“To put it bluntly, there is a dark side to the film industry – a culture where sexual assault, gender disparity, and sexism run rampant. It’s culture we cannot and will not accept,” She added.
Bailey said the eyes of the global film business will be on Toronto in September, giving the festival a chance to hold its own protest. “This is our opportunity to stand side-by-side and speak out against the systemic inequality that has plagued our industry for far too long”. She insisted.
However, no names have been listed as speakers for the sisters’ march, but they are expected to come from among the many celebrity actresses and directors set to show their latest work in Toronto.
Amazon Studios titles, Beautiful Boy and Life Itself have both been lined up for the 43rd edition.
