Trans, Non-Binary Cast, Crew “At Risk” on Canadian Film Sets, Study Says

As the Canadian film industry focuses on boosting representation for trans and non-binary people and characters on local film and TV screens, the industry has got a wake-up call about anti-trans sentiment and actions experienced by gender-diverse people working behind the camera.

The Spindle Films Foundation, which supports greater inclusion and diversity for Canadian filmmakers, has released its first research report that points to faltering progress on local film sets.

"With recent data showing a decline in the representation of and support for the queer and gender diverse community in Canada, as well as legislation rolling out across the country targeting their rights under the guise of protecting parental rights, Spindle Films Foundation is gravely concerned that the safety, support, and celebration of trans and non-binary folks in the Canadian film industry are more at risk now than they were even a year ago," the report stated.

The non-profit organization surveyed transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people working in the Canadian film industry and found 53 percent of respondents reported "adverse experiences" related to their gender identity "when they were last on set." Another 82 percent of those polled said they had a "supportive experience" on the last film set they worked on.

The foundation, which works to generate more work for transgender and non-binary filmmakers, creatives, and crew in the Canadian industry, also found 57 percent of respondents said they experienced "adverse experiences" daily when on set. Those with "supportive experiences" said they had an advocate in a position of power on set, shared a community with other gender-diverse cast or crew members and had their pronouns "respected by others on set."

The use of gender-neutral they/them/theirs pronouns to indicate a crew or cast member's identity on Canadian film sets loomed large among the negative experiences reported by respondents to the Spindle Films Foundation survey. According to the report's researchers, the adverse experiences ranged from fellow cast or crew using the wrong gendered language, trans or non-binary people having to educate or defend their use of pronouns, resistance from crew members to using gender-neutral language and "blatant transphobia."

Javelin Laurence, director of research, education and accessibility at Spindle Films Foundation, told The Hollywood Reporter in his own statement: "The theme that these experiences communicated was clear, that the industry so many have fought tooth and nail to be a part of does not prioritize the wellbeing of their gender diverse workers."

Laurence added the report cast its net wide for the opinions of trans and non-binary people working in the Canadian industry. "Our respondents came from both behind and in front of the camera, from the director's chair to the hair and makeup department, from the writer's room to the editing suite. Gender diverse humans are everywhere in the Canadian film industry, meaning the need for change is industry wide," he argued.

The opposition claimed by trans and non-binary people working in Canadian film has implications for their visibility in the industry. The report's researchers point to respondents delaying or not revealing their correct gender identities on sets.

One unidentified respondent to the survey stated: "I was open to a few people, but near the beginning a non-binary actor was the subject of a massive amount of discussion and debate amongst the whole crew, which made it clear that most people didn't understand how to use they/them pronouns, or what the meaning or value of it was."

The red flag raised by the Spindle Films Foundation comes as its researchers pointed to the 19th edition of GLAAD 's Where We Are on TV report where the media watchdog group reported the number of LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms had dropped.

And a 2023 report by the Union of British Columbia Performers, representing local actors, and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found in British Columbia, a major production hub for Hollywood producers, the queer community was found to make up only 5 percent of characters in all productions shot in in the western Canadian province. And queer characters were most present in TV series and were the least visible in TV movies shot in and around Vancouver.

The release of the inaugural Spindle Films Foundation report also comes amid a Canadian film industry, and especially its funders and unions, actively working towards greater inclusion and diversity on local screens. The report on trans and non-binary representation, however, argued the Canadian industry had not made support for demonstrating gender difference for trans and non-binary people on and behind film and TV screens "a priority."

Recent industry steps towards greater inclusion include the Canadian Screen Awards shifting to gender-neutral acting categories, and the wider industry celebrating the success of CBC and Max 's Sort Of, a comedy that starred Bilal Baig as a non-binary millennial who straddles various identities among friends and family in Toronto, Luis De Filippis' transgender movie Something You Said Last Night, and Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, a documentary co-directed and written by trans filmmaker Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and executive produced by Elliot Page.

But away from awards show and conferences, the Spindle Films Foundation report urged more needs to be done for trans and non-binary crew and cast members and creatives in their workplaces to boost their visibility and positions of power in the industry overall.

"Safety, inclusivity and community were all themes that would determine whether gender diverse filmmakers felt comfortable taking a job," the report argued.