Joan Jenkinson opening doors for Blacks in film, television & digital media
November 16, 2022
Joan Jenkinson’s mother loved to tell stories.
Many times during her childhood, she came home to see her sitting at the head of the dining room table with family, friends and neighbourhood residents, reeling off tales.
They ranged from running away from home and the birth of each of her eight children to the most mundane thing like boiling potatoes.
“Each story was as captivating as the next and rarely did she tell the same one twice,” Jenkinson recalls. “Unfortunately that gift wasn’t passed on.”
Instead, she found other pathways to make an impact in the creative industry.
Jenkinson helps raconteurs bring their ideas to life and has been working assiduously to support Black Canadians in developing talent, accessing funding and in assuming decision-making roles in television, film and digital media.
Lynne Stoltz presented the 2010 Tony Stoltz ReelWorld Film Festival Visionary award to Joan Jenkinson (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
More importantly, she has been outspoken about the inequities Blacks and other people of colour face in the sector.
After years of advocating for the elimination of anti-Black racism in Canadian Screen industries, Jenkinson and a group of senior industry professionals founded the Black Screen Office (BSO).
Since its establishment two years ago, the BSO Executive Director said there is an openness to change the status quo.
“For years, anti-Black racism in the film, television and digital media industries just went unacknowledged by non-Black people,” she noted. “Today, there is an acknowledgement that the system is failing Black Canadians working within the screen industries and audiences who are not seeing a Canada that reflects the world in which they live.
“BSO has been able to collaborate with various industry players to begin to move the needle in the right direction. Telefilm Canada, under the leadership of former Chief Executive officer Christa Dickenson, has been a big player in this effort. They are not the only ones, so we are excited to see system change beginning to take hold elsewhere too.”
In the past year, BSO has conducted three research projects.
‘Being Seen’, ‘Being Counted’ and ‘Being Heard’ look at Canada’s screen industries from the perspective of the content, audience and workers respectively.
“The one theme that runs through all of them is the need for more Black people in decision-making roles in these industries,” said Jenkinson. “With Black executives, programming directors and gatekeepers situated across the industries, Black producers and creatives will begin to organically receive the green lights, financial support and recognition they deserve. Their content will employ Black casts and staff and there will be a cascading effect.”
‘Being Seen: Directives for Creating Authentic and Inclusive Content’ was the BSO’s first project.
It shares the perspectives of 400 screen industry professionals and members of the viewing public – adults and children – who identify as Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ and/or People with Disabilities by examining their thoughts about their representation in screen products and what improvements can be made.
Jenkinson said the ‘Being Seen Core Themes’ report outline the common refrains shared across the four communities interviewed.
“There are also five community-specific reports, including a Children’s media report, that dives more deeply into the portrayals and entertainment desires of these groups,” she said. “In addition to the participants’ insights, the reports provide a series of practical directives specifically aimed at creators, producers, broadcasters, digital platforms, streaming services, funders, distributors, casting agents and industry associations. These directives are intended to support them to commission, create and assess authentic content within the Canadian screen-based media.”
‘Being Counted: Canadian Race-Based Audience Survey’ delves into the screen media preferences and consumption habits of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour audiences, which, collectively, represent about one-fifth of Canada’s potential viewing audience.
“Yet, their unique profiles and habits are lost in traditional audience surveys by being rolled into the ‘general population’ results,” she noted. “With this research. BSO makes these audiences visible and uncovers the role on-screen representation plays in influencing consumption habits. The survey’s insights can help inform changes to programming as well as changes to traditional audience research methodologies to accurately reflect Canadians preferences.”
Released this fall, ‘Being Heard: Black Canadians in the Canadian Screen Industries’ provides new insight into the presence and experience of Black screen industry professionals, including producers, writers, directors and tech/crew.
The BSO and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) are currently seeking participants for the Black Women Directors Accelerator program. It offers training and mentoring to five experienced Black women Directors, culminating in the opportunity to direct an episodic television show as a ‘Guest Director’.
“Through this initiative, BSO and DGC are introducing productions to the talent pool of Black Women Directors across Canada and helping them access that important first episode of a scripted episode,” said Jenkinson who is a Black Film & Video Network (BFVN) board member.
The BSO also established a career accelerator and collaborated with Telefilm Canada to create the Black Creators Festival Initiative that offers filmmakers an opportunity to gain exposure to the global market.
Participants will receive critical support from the BSO to navigate the festival marketplace through accreditation, travel and accommodation arrangements, curated experiences at the event, pre-festival preparation and orientation and support to facilitate connections to buyers, producers, distributors, financiers and other industry influencers.
Joan Jenkinson (l) with publicist Kevin Pennant and model Lana Ogilvie on the Black carpet at the inaugural Legacy Awards in Toronto in. September 2022 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Last month, a jury of industry professionals selected 16 creators for the second round of the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund.
They will take part in a two-day in-person retreat, a weekly half-hour meeting with a story editor/mentor, a monthly check-in with a BSO program co-ordinator, one-on-one pitch sessions with a coach, a ‘pitch day’ with established industry producers and attend two evening workshops and a two-hour pitch master class following the submission of the outline.
Established in 2021 by the BSO in partnership with the Rogers Group of Funds and the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black & People of Colour Creators (CISF), the $75,000 fund helps writers take an English or French scripted or documentary project from early development to a second round draft or treatment.
“The caliber of the projects submitted demonstrates the wealth of talent that can be found in these communities and how that talent can and should be nurtured to diversify Canada’s screen industries and bring truly inclusive and uniquely Canadian content to the world,” said the former ReelWorld Film festival founding board member and former Chair.
As part of its mandate to ensure the playing field is level, the BSO has thrown its support behind the federal government introduction of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act.
“We welcome the language in the Bill that recognizes the importance of supporting and reflecting racialized and other diverse ethnocultural communities within Canada, both as audiences and as creators of programming,” noted Jenkinson. “Canadians of all backgrounds have not had access to programming within the Canadian broadcasting system that authentically reflects the diversity of this country. The proposed amendments in C-11 will prioritize greater equity and inclusion.
“However, while we welcome C-11s references to serving the needs and interests of racialized Canadians, we are asking that where the word ‘racialized’ is used be replaced with ‘Black and racialized’. We are requesting this amendment as recognition that there has historically been greater oppression of Black Canadians and greater barriers to inclusion than with other racialized Canadians.”
A graduate of York University’s Mass Communications & Film Studies program, Jenkinson worked in various communications positions and volunteered as a video producer.
After completing a two-year contract position as Communications Director for the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System, she volunteered at the Women in Film & Television Toronto (WIFT-T) booth at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Industry Centre and was offered a position as WIFT-T Executive Director in 1996.
“It was my first job in the screen industry, but all my experience up to that point led me there,” said Jenkinson who established professional development training and networking opportunities for women in screen-based media.
After five years in the position, she joined ZoomerMedia Television Division as Vice-President of Independent Production.
She commissioned, developed and executive produced hundreds of hours of award-winning content in all genres for Vision TV. They included ‘Songs of Freedom’, ‘The Naked Archaeologist’, ‘Rabbit Fall’ and ‘Soul’ which stands out among the creative projects she has been involved in.
Andy Marshall created the series showrun by Floyd Kane who is the creator, showrunner and executive producer of ‘Diggstown’ which is the first Canadian drama series featuring a Black Canadian woman (Vinessa Antoine) as its lead character.
“Soul was one of the series that came out of VisionTV Diverse TV program and it is about a Black girl who is faced with the decision of choosing between gospel music stardom and her pastor who wants to keep her close and in the church,” said Jenkinson. “It was a thoroughly engaging and collaborative experience that was a joy for everyone involved.”
Canadian Film Centre founder Norman Jewison & Producing Resident Joan Jenkinson at the CFC BBQ in Sept. 1992 (Photo by Steven Lungley)
Asked who are some of the trailblazers on whose shoulders she stands, Jenkinson singled out founding BFVN President Claire Prieto, TIFF Chief Executive Officer Cameron Bailey and former VisionTV Programming Head Chris Johnson.
“For Chris, racial equity was a given,” she pointed out. “He helped me to create the DiverseTV program that gave some of the most senior Black producers and creatives their first opportunity in Canadian network television.”
In 2016, Jenkinson co-founded Artemis Pictures that develops and produces high-end scripted content.
‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’, an American musical fantasy released in 1971, was the first movie she saw.
“It was wonderful and fantastical,” the 2010 ReelWorld Film Festival Visionary Awardee recalled. “I didn’t know this as a kid, but the themes of honesty, humility, what goes around comes around, creativity and imagination are certainly what struck a chord.”
