Indeed Joins Forces with BIPOC TV & Film, Hillman Grad and TIFF to Launch Rising Voices Career Accelerator in Canada
Rising Voices Canada will provide mentorship, networking and industry access to emerging BIPOC Canadian filmmakers
TORONTO (September 11, 2023) - Indeed, a leading jobs and hiring site with a mission to help people get jobs, announced today the launch of Rising Voices Canada. Developed in partnership with BIPOC TV & Film, Hillman Grad, and TIFF, the program will act as a career accelerator for emerging Canadian Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour (BIPOC) filmmakers offering them tangible skills, resources and networks to build their careers in film.
“Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs and we work to remove as many barriers to employment as possible. We know that while that talent is universal, opportunity is not and that’s why we created the Rising Voices program three years ago. The program has already made a significant impact on the film industry in the United States but we know that there’s a tremendous need to break down barriers and create opportunity in Canada as well. Today, we are thrilled to join forces with BIPOC TV & Film, Hillman Grad and TIFF to expand our commitment in Canada and help create a stronger, more equitable future of work.”
- LaFawn Davis, Senior Vice President of Environmental, Social & Governance at Indeed.
Through this program, Indeed hopes to elevate the careers of BIPOC filmmakers in Canada, helping them create and share their stories. This is because inequality doesn’t just exist south of the border: according to Indeed’s Breaking Down Barriers Report, 46% of BIPOC Canadians experience discrimination due to their race, and 45% attribute it to their nationality or ethnicity. Rising Voices Canada will expand on Indeed’s commitment to telling diverse stories, providing opportunities for marginalized talent, and creating sustainable job opportunities for talented underrepresented creatives.
Applications to open this fall
This fall, five Canadian filmmakers will be selected to participate in the career accelerator as mentees. Over the course of the next year, the mentees will take part in development sessions, monthly workshops and networking conversations with other directors, writers and producers, led by Hillman Grad and BIPOC TV & Film. Mentees will also have access to TIFF facilities and memberships through TIFF’s support of Rising Voices Canada. Then, next summer, the up-and-coming filmmakers will be invited to attend the Rising Voices Season 4 premiere, with the potential opportunity to pitch concepts to industry professionals.
We’ve made tremendous strides in creating opportunities for underrepresented communities in recent years but there is still a lot of work to be done. The Rising Voices Canada program will not only give short-term guidance to up-and-coming BIPOC Canadian filmmakers, but it will also set them up for long-term success with the proper training and resources.
- Kadon Douglas, Executive Director at BIPOC TV & Film
Following the incredible impact of Rising Voices, we’re honoured to be expanding our partnership with Indeed to create the Rising Voices Canada program alongside BIPOC TV & Film and TIFF. It's been our mission at Hillman Grad to build a support system for underrepresented talent. We are so excited to bring that philosophy to Canadian creators with this initiative.
-Rishi Rajani, CEO at Hillman Grad.-
The application process will be open this fall. More information will be available at bipoctvandfilm.com as applications open.
The impact of Rising Voices on the film industry
Indeed launched Rising Voices in 2021, in collaboration with Lena Waithe, Hillman Grad Productions, Ventureland and 271 Films. The program aims to discover, invest in and amplify stories created by BIPOC filmmakers and storytellers. Since its launch, Rising Voices has created over 2,000 jobs, from production to cinematography, for its 30 films, and has received over 1,600 applications. Rising Voices along with participating filmmakers have also received worldwide recognition from prominent film festivals including Tribeca, Sundance, Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, AFI Fest, Pan African Film, and the 45th Asian American Film Festival, among others. In addition, filmmakers who have completed the Rising Voices program have gone on to direct episodes of ‘The Chi’ on Showtime, '‘Chicago Fire’ on NBC, ‘American Born Chinese’ on Disney+, become Netflix staff writers, directed commercial TV work for Jeep and Oakley, and have been nominated for NAACP Image Awards.
For more information, please contact:
Indeed: Canada_PR@Indeed.com
Emily Chang, Citizen Relations: emily.chang@citizenrelations.com
About Indeed
More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else. Indeed is the #1 job site in the world (Comscore, Total Visits, June 2023) and allows job seekers to search millions of jobs in more than 60 countries and 28 languages. Almost 3.5 million employers use Indeed to find and hire new employees. More than 300 million unique visitors use Indeed each month to search for jobs, post resumes, research companies and more.
About BIPOC TV & Film
From a grassroots movement—creating new networks of support, care, and knowledge sharing, democratizing access, and challenging discriminatory policies and practices in the industry—to a national not-for-profit organization building impactful and transformative career training programs and advocating for equitable access to jobs and funding, we’ve shown what is possible when a group of determined and creative people come together for good. From professional development training to mentorship to wellness support and community engagement initiatives, we ensure that BIPOC media professionals have the necessary resources, access and opportunities to fully participate in our industry—at all levels in front of and behind the camera. In 2020, we launched HireBIPOC, a hiring initiative to facilitate connections between employers and BIPOC above and below-the-line crew and creative professionals in Canada.
About Hillman Grad
Hillman Grad was founded by actor, producer and Emmy®-winning writer Lena Waithe and CEO Rishi Rajani to empower and provide industry access to underrepresented artists and amplify the stories of diverse, historically marginalized communities across all industries. Hillman Grad Productions, their development and production arm, currently have projects at Netflix, Disney, BET, Showtime, HBO, Universal, Amazon, and Focus Features. Current producorial projects include the Emmy-nominated documentary film Being Mary Tyler Moore and the 2023 Sundance Film Festival award-winning films A Thousand And One, which received the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and Kokomo City which received the NEXT Audience Award and NEXT Innovator Award.
About TIFF
TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $200 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.