June 22, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) today presented an overview of key results from the 2020–2021 fiscal year, which saw the NFB complete acclaimed new documentary, animation and interactive works, and take important steps in our commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Like all Canadians, the NFB faced the challenges of COVID-19. We did so together with artists and artisans, and it was thanks to their hard work that we were able to bring together a vast creative project about life during the pandemic. It was also a pivotal year for development as we introduced our new Strategic Plan and our renewed commitments to affirming diverse voices and perspectives and building an equitable and inclusive environment for all at the NFB. All of these achievements are the result of the talent and commitment of the NFB’s employees, artists and craftspeople, who worked closely together during a challenging year for our industry,” said Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB.

2020–2021 results

Creation:

• 84 original works produced, including 26 co-productions.
• $38.2M in production spending.
• More than 3,300 contracts with creators, artisans and collaborators involved in productions.
• 45% of works directed by emerging filmmakers.
• 109 awards earned, with 40% of them going to women creators and their works.
• 50 films benefited from the Aide au cinéma indépendant du Canada (ACIC)or the Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP).

Engagement with Audience:

• 7 million global views recorded overall, including 36 million views in Canada across all platforms.
• 1 million students with access to the NFB’s online educational portal, CAMPUS.
• This year the number of NFB followers surpassed one million, all channels included (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.), and the number of social media engagement actions with online audiences totalled approx. 5 million.

Diversity and inclusion:

• 35% of NFB works completed in 2020–2021—29 films in total—explored topics related to Indigenous lives and experiences, and diverse perspectives related to race, ethnicity, religion, culture, disability, gender and sexuality. 14 works completed by creators from official-language minority communities: four works by French Program’s Canadian Francophonie Studio and 10 works by the English Program’s animation and documentary studios in Montreal.
• The NFB is implementing new mechanisms to allow for creators to self-identify, to be able to respectfully track and work towards uplifting and affirming our commitment to increasing the representation of creators and collaborators from equity seeking groups.

Gender parity:

• 40% of works completed in 2020–2021 were directed by women (48% by men and 11% by mixed teams, with 1% non-identified). In total, 34 works by women were completed.
• 47% of works in progress in 2020–2021 were being made by women (40% by men and 13% by mixed teams).
• 42% of production spending went to works by women (39% on works by men and 19% on works by mixed teams).
• 42% of completed works written by women (49% by men and 8% by mixed teams, with 1% non-identified).
• 47% of completed works edited by women (50% by men and 3% by mixed teams).
• 14% of completed works with cinematography by women (77% by men and 8% by mixed teams, with 1% non-identified).
• 24% of works completed had musical scores by women (71% by men and 5% by mixed teams).
• For the second consecutive year, the NFB was awarded the highest-level Platinum Parity Certification by Women in Governance.

Indigenous Action Plan:

• 14% of production spending went to works by Indigenous creators.
• 8% of completed works directed by Indigenous filmmakers, for a total of 7 works.
• 15% of works in progress in 2020–2021 were being made by Indigenous creators.
• A total of 8 NFB completed works focused on Indigenous lives and experiences.
• Indigenous employees represent 1.24% of all NFB staff, including continuous and temporary employees, with the NFB committed to achieving a minimum of 4% Indigenous representation by 2025.
• Indigenous Cinema, the NFB’s rich online collection of Indigenous-made films, now features more than 415 free titles, and reached 480,000 views in 2020–2021.

COVID-19

• THE CURVE: Social-distancing stories that bring us closer together.Launched on August 24 with the collaboration of 40 creators, this project explores life in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 36 works completed in 2020–2021.
• Documentary Production in the Era of COVID-19: Best Practices by and for Documentary Filmmakers. The NFB partnered with the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) to create and launch this online COVID-19 production guideby and for documentary filmmakers.

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Associated Links

Strategic Plan
Gender Parity
Indigenous Action Plan
Diversity, equity and inclusion Action Plan

French version here | Version française ici.