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I tweeted yesterday that Dan Lyon made a sexually inappropriate comment to me while he offered me a meeting at Telefilm. I spoke on it for the film @MeAfterToo in 2019 & I’ve decided to share the clip & a thread (CW: sexual harassment, abuse, trauma) https://vimeo.com/435710297
. @MeAfterToo has been out for about a year now, I’ve spoken about my experience with Dan privately with industry leaders, as feedback to the Canadian Academy on safety at their events, on Twitter threads by industry advocacy groups for women.
Every time I reached/spoke out I either got silence, a weak apology, or ‘everyone’s just waiting for him to retire'. I even sent an email to Telefilm HR asking about filing a formal complaint in this regard. No one emailed me back.
These responses, of course, gave me no sense that the industry at large or the people at the helm of these organizations had my back or wanted to do the hard work of considering my experience.
When the event occurred, I was in a position to make a dream project. My script was shortlisted by Sundance, all other financing was in place & I was submitting in the year when Telefilm had pledged to fund at least 50% female-led films.
So, when Dan said what he did, I was conflicted — as women often are in these situations. I was reconsidering this meeting. I didn’t want to ask this man who had harassed me for money but I had few other options to make the film in Canada.
A witness to this encounter was my husband/business partner @mattcampagna. He’s pitched Dan many times over the past decade & can give further context to the different way Dan addressed men from women. It’s striking & highly problematic.
Over the past 2 years my need (and desire) to work with Telefilm has waned. I’ve built a streaming site & have other avenues to fund films; I created my own ecosystem so I don’t have to interact with a system or person that abused me.
I’m privileged to have been able to do all of this & know this isn’t possible for most. And it shouldn’t have to be the case; you shouldn’t have to build your own funding/streaming system to avoid harassment & discrimination.
We must reckon with the fact that women, BIPOC & other marginalized filmmakers continue to be discriminated against, harassed & misled by funders & key orgs in the Cdn film industry. There’s PR & lip service, but no real change or action.
In the year he rejected my project (and several films by other women I know were rejected) Telefilm had the audacity to say they wouldn’t reach parity because they simply couldn’t find projects by women at the $2million+ level to fund.
It would be laughable if it weren’t unconscionable. Telefilm needs to take a good hard look at what they have enabled & supported for far too long. And other adjacent organizations have to ask themselves the same thing.
Because let’s face it; there are like 5 companies that run the Canadian Film sector and they all collaborate with/rely heavily on support from Telefilm and from each other;
the structural problems at Telefilm that allow Dan to continue to have his job & power can be found elsewhere in the Canadian film industry pretty easily.
Now, if you’re reading this and thinking “Dan has always supported me. He financed my film and I’m an indie filmmaker. Dan’s a great guy.” I ask you to consider this:
Your experience of Dan can be true and so can mine. At the same time. I have colleagues in the industry who defend him & sing his praises. I don’t deny their experience. It simply isn’t mine.
Another important piece of this discussion is that, as a film funder, Dan is not only in a position to help/hinder individual filmmakers, he has become an architect for a concept oft described as ‘Canadian Stories’.
What does it say for Telefilm’s idea of ‘Canadian Stories’ that such a diverse group of filmmakers feel, not only unrepresented, but actually attacked or discriminated against by this one key player at their org?
I would ask @Telefilm_Canada to consider: if it’s true that 1) you don’t tolerate harassment or racism; and 2) this many people come forward with incidents & complaints, does Dan make decisions & act in a way that represents your stated values?
Because it’s not enough to not to be racist. Or not be misogynist. You must actively, vociferously & consistently aim to be anti-racist and anti-misogynist if you are going to stand by those stated values, esp. as a publicly funded entity.
In all the times I’ve faced harassment or assault at the hands of powerful men in this industry the same feelings of doubt/fear emerge. Will I be believed? Will I lose opportunities? Will anyone support me? Will I have to be used here?
Imagine feeling all of that in a split-second after the film financier at the only studio in Canada says he wants to meet with you. Imagine that moment of opportunity undercut by the condition that you look sexy in a professional meeting.
Imagine the days leading up to the meeting - deciding what to wear, how to behave, whether you should even go. Nobody should be put in this position. Ever.
Telefilm is a publicly funded company - WE fund it. Dan hands out OUR money. But Telefilm is malfunctioning. There’s something that can be done as a first step, and that’s separating Dan Lyon from his power.
And then a larger & deeper conversation can begin about who/what gets funded and by whom. That conversation requires radical transparency, true collaboration & willingness to right what has been wrong for a long time. Your move, #Telefilm.
Thanks to @pavanmoondi for starting this conversation over the weekend & to @daphnesimone for the opportunity to speak in her film. You can watch the rest of @meaftertoo in Canada here: https://www.reelhouse.org/whatshesaid/meaftertoo
