Guest Post by Savine Wong

I was very lucky, and I knew it. As a woman working in the financial sector in Hong Kong, my strong command of the English language set me apart from the other women in my department. My luck struck again when I discovered the bank I worked for had a department specializing in providing financing for films and television series. It was the perfect place to do what I was good at while laying the groundwork for the direction my career would eventually take. I wanted to help filmmakers refine their projects and package them for financiers.

I did, however, notice at that time that there were strikingly low numbers of females working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. In 2007, the conversation around gender disparity in the film world wasn’t what it is today. Most people weren’t talking about it, and more often than not I would be in a room where I was the only female.

When I moved home to Canada, I started a job similar to what I was doing in Hong Kong, but I was quickly met with a new challenge: even in such a multicultural setting, I experienced marginalization and at times was treated by both men and women as though I knew less than I did.

I slowly shifted to the world of film festivals, working in industry programming. China was seeing a boom in its film industry, and I believed the knowledge I had acquired over the years while in Hong Kong would allow me to help bridge the gap between cultures and create some positive conversation. I wish I could say this happened, but it’s still a struggle at the best of times, especially since the ways of doing business are so very different in the two regions.

My exposure to female Asian filmmakers increased, and once I started talking to them it became apparent to me that not only was financing hard to access for the diverse stories they wanted to tell, but it was also difficult to build audience awareness for their films in such a crowded environment.

That was when I discovered the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian). Given that there was already a well-established local festival like the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), was there really a need for a more niche, focused festival like Reel Asian? The answer was, and still is, yes.

Each year at TIFF, there are only a limited amount of selected films that are made by Asians and even less made by Asian Canadians. The number of films made by Asian women — miniscule. In Hollywood, 1,114 directors accounted for 1,000 of the most popular films from 2007–2016. Only 34 of those directors were Asian or Asian American, and just three of them were Asian or Asian American women. Clearly, we still need more avenues to showcase the talents of Asian filmmakers to audiences.

Reel Asian gives a home to filmmakers who deserve every bit of help and resources a festival can offer to their films and a much-needed platform. Films that typically struggle with traditional distribution models are screened for international audiences, helping build the reputation filmmakers need to attract investments and partners so that they can continue to tell their stories.

As my experience grows, I’ve come to have a deeper understanding as to how organizations like Reel Asian can help female filmmakers and those interested in getting into the industry. For one, Reel Asian is female-led and boasts a senior team of women. Through its initiatives like the Youth Summer Production Program and organized school tours, young Asian Canadians are exposed to all the possibilities in the industry, have the added bonus of being in a community they can identify with, and have an understanding of what it means to be Asian in North America. Seeing a team run by and supported by amazing Asian female figures in the industry also reminds filmmakers that their personal stories will not be dismissed, and it’s that exposure that strengthens the resolve to succeed for females in the industry. If even one more female Asian filmmaker can find their voice and footing in the industry, then we’ve succeeded.

Savine Wong is the Interim Executive Director of Reel Asian and consults on film and television productions on the side. You can follow her @savinewong.