About Share Her Journey
Championing women in front of and behind the camera
What Is Share Her Journey?
Share Her Journey began in 2017 as a five-year campaign to address gender parity and champion women in front of and behind the camera, both year-round and during the Toronto International Film Festival. It has since evolved into a permanent TIFF impact initiative.
Today, Share Her Journey is TIFF’s year-round platform for advancing the visibility, opportunity, and long-term influence of women creators in screen-based storytelling. Through creator support, public programming, ambassador engagement, and community-building, it helps more women build careers, advance projects, and shape the stories that inspire audiences around the world.
“We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds.” – Jessie Buckley
Photo: (L-R) Emily Mortimer, Jessie Buckley, and Chloé Zhao, TIFF 50
Why It Matters Now?
Women remain underrepresented across the screen industries and continue to face systemic barriers to opportunity, leadership, and career advancement. After pre-pandemic gains, in recent years, the industry has seen a significant drop in women’s leadership roles in film. In 2025, women directed just 13% of the top 250 films and held only 23% of key behind-the-scenes roles. 74% of the top 250 films had no women writers. These gaps do more than limit opportunity for creators; they narrow the range of stories, perspectives, and cultural experiences available to audiences.
See the difference you can make!
Donate todayopen_in_newFor inquiries and opportunities, please contact the TIFF Philanthropy Office.
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Charitable Registration No. 11930 4541 RR0001. Tax receipts are issued for all donations $10 or more.
TIFF’s Foundation for Action
TIFF already has a strong foundation on which to build. Women currently represent 50% of participants in TIFF’s filmmaker labs, 53% of Industry Conference speakers, and approximately 50% of Canada’s Top Ten programming. Share Her Journey is how TIFF will transform that foundation into a clearer year-round platform for measurable, ongoing progress with wider reach.
More women creators supported, more women-led projects advanced, and more women shaping the stories that reach audiences in Canada and around the world. Because when the stories change, the future does too.
TIFF’s Impact Promise
Programming Commitment
Current Industry Context
- In 2025, only 13% of the top 250 grossing films were directed by women.
- Films made by women remain significantly underrepresented across cinema history at 5% and in year-round exhibition.
- Only 9 of the top 100 films were directed by women.
- For the “Big Three” film festivals, only 20% of featured films were by women directors.
Current State at TIFF
- Approximately 23% of TIFF’s 2025 Festival Official Selections were directed by women.
TIFF’s Impact Promise
- Increase share of Festival Official Selections directed by women to 35% by 2028.
- Achieve 50% representation of women in TIFF’s Public, Canadian and Next Wave programmes. Exceed 20% of films in Cinematheque (historic) programming.
- Achieve 50% representation of women across TIFF’s digital content channels, reaching nearly 1B impressions annually.
Talent Development Commitment
Current Industry Context
- 50% parity is a widely pursued benchmark across global festival talent development initiatives.
Current State at TIFF
- Women represent 50% of participants in TIFF’s filmmaker labs.
TIFF’s Impact Promise
- Sustain or exceed 50% representation of women across TIFF’s growing talent development initiatives.
- Prioritize intersectionality in talent development selections.
- Provide subsidies for a minimum of 10 annual Talent Fellowships and awards for women.
Institutional Governance
- Eliminate “selection bias” by ensuring that TIFF’s programming decision-makers are gender-balanced.
- Establish the next generation of gender-balanced curators with 50% representation of girls on TIFF’s Next Wave Committee.
- Host a minimum of one quarterly public event with a dedicated focus on women’s issues and women-led stories, developed by women creators.
Photo: Yasmine Mathurin, TIFF Writer Fellowship alumna
Our Supporters
Thanks to CHANEL, the RBC Foundation, the Share Her Journey Collective, and all of our supporters for their generous support of Share Her Journey.
The CHANEL Women Creators’ Network provides women and nonbinary participants of select TIFF Talent Development initiatives ongoing support after the programme ends.
Join the movement and become a Share Her Journey supporter! Make a gift today or join the Share Her Journey Collective to help advance women filmmakers and the stories they can share with the world.
