Behind the Curtain: The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada
- George Yonemori
- Jun 13
- 3 min read
I have to admit I don’t stick around for the credits after everything I watch, which is a real loss because behind every entertainment production is a wealth of often invisible talent vital to the experiences we enjoy. Each scrolling producer and VFX artist’s name is an individual just as passionate as those in the spotlight. Canadian women comprise a significant chunk of these overlooked names and are hungry for greater opportunities. Filling this gap, the Hollywood Reporter hosted its second Women in Entertainment Summit and Awards Ceremony at the five-star hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, in downtown Toronto on May 29th. The glamorous all-day event fostered genuine connections and showcased Canadian women from across the TV, film, and music industries. Featured guests included Canadian television personality, fashion icon, and author Jeanne Beker, Canada Media Fund President and CEO Valerie Creighton, monolithic literary icon Margaret Atwood, and many more.
The first panel focused on the art of leadership, featuring executives from TIFF, Bell Media, the Canada Media Fund, Fremantle, Pluto TV, and the Indigenous Screen Office. On male versus female leadership, Valerie Creighton said that men lead from a place of ego, whereas women lead from a place of work. They reiterated the importance of trusting your intuition and being authentic even in the professional space. A ballroom full of women, many of whom I talked to, aspire to be on that stage someday. I met actresses and filmmakers, including Nightingale Nguyen, who was in the 2021 film Scarborough. People took pages of detailed handwritten notes on every bit of their advice. Seeing your goals under the objective light of reality makes it feel more achievable. Later panels advocated for greater support for mothers in the film industry, including provisions for pumping time and accommodating families.
The Hollywood Reporter and its partners did not skimp on the refreshments. After lunch, they wheeled out a candy table with jars of gummies and full-sized chocolate bars. It was crazy, like trick-or-treating in a rich neighbourhood. The evening cocktail reception had gourmet pizza and chow mein. I sipped an Aperol spritz while TV producers asked me what I was doing at this feminist conference. Honestly, I felt less out of place at the male stripper memoir launch party I attended when I was 19. Someone said she liked my sense of humour during our conversation about the quietly dying field of journalism and Nathan Fielder’s show, The Rehearsal.
The awards ceremony began with actress and Breakthrough Award winner Amrit Kaur saying talent shouldn’t have to pass through the United States to break through. The absolute highlight of the day was Margaret Atwood receiving her ICON award. At 85 years young, she spoke with equal parts weary wisdom about the disappointing world she predicted and a fiery youthful resilience. Everyone held their breaths when she took the stage so as not to miss a word. Whomever chose to play “Youth” by Daughter in her career recap video should get a promotion. Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale is an essential part of the literary canon, not only because it is brilliantly written, but because it illuminates the bubbling misogyny that institutions dismiss with one hand and sign enforcing legislation with the other. You don’t need a third eye to predict the future—you just need to pay attention to the present. Until the forked tongues that own our world straighten out, events like The Hollywood Reporter Women in the Entertainment Canada will always be needed.
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