Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Access Plan: Always a Work in Progress
updated 12/8/2020
The purpose of this document is to lay out our objectives and current & future initiatives toward meeting those objectives. The ultimate goal of this working document is to make plans and set attainable goals toward making the AYFF community reflect the diverse representation we would like to see in the industry as a whole and meeting the ever-changing needs of our community. We feel that those we serve are the filmmakers of the future, and the work we do in creating an inclusive environment that celebrates cross-cultural exchange through the arts, and creates equitable opportunities for anyone to have access has the power to instill values they will move into their careers with. By putting this roadmap in writing, we feel it grants a level of accountability toward reaching these goals as we revisit them throughout the year.
Key Objective 1: Diversity in Leadership and Mentor Positions
Initiatives:
Since inception our leadership team and board of directors have been over 50% BIPOC, and as we grow, we would like to maintain this representation in our ranks. We understand that this keeps us in check and in touch better with the needs of our community.
Timeline: In place since inception in 2012.
2. Each year we bring in industry professionals to do roundtable discussions, keynote addresses, Q&As, and be artist mentors on set. We will continue our focus on ensuring that we maintain annual goals around the number of those artists that are BIPOC, LGBTQ, Women, disabled/impaired, and other underrepresented groups in the film industry to share our values in diversity and to better help young aspiring creators find mentors they see themselves reflected in.
Timeline: Initiatives began prior to 2nd annual festival event (2014). Demographic goals are set annually in the spring meeting just prior to festival special guests being contacted and invited.
Performance Indicators: Both of these Initiative are easily quantified based on demographic data.
Key Objectives 2: Equitable Access to Programming and Education
Initiatives:
Continue to maintain the values that socioeconomic obstacles never get in the way of a student participating in the festival through fully-waived submission fees and ticket costs upon request, no questions asked.
Timeline: Initiative in place since inception in 2012.
2. Make FREE educational content available on our website in the form of a filmmaker resource center. Our hope is that these open resources will allow those students who do not have access geographically or financially to a film program either through their school or elsewhere will have a free way to begin learning their craft.
Timeline: Launched in the spring of 2020, and continuously managed throughout the year.
3. **Creation of a free equipment check-out program for youth who do not have access to video equipment. The goal being to provide that access and better bridge the gap between students who have cameras and those who don't want to tell their stories.
Timeline: Began development and fundraising for this Initiative in Winter of 2020, created a partnership with a local community arts center to facilitate, hoping to have some equipment in the inventory and available by May 2021 and continue to build upon that inventory each year thereafter and possibly extend the program to other cities.
4. Launch of a Young Filmmaker grant open to young filmmakers to help fund projects. This program will have a strong focus on diversity.
Timeline: Unknown. We understand that this program could be a few years out as we would like it to be sustainable into the future, but it is our goal to launch it within the next 5 years (by 2025).
Performance Indicators: Each of these initiatives are action-based goals with dates associated with when we hope to launch. We are a little more flexible on Initiative 3 & 4 as they are based on us reaching funding goals during a pandemic. So, we are being reasonable, but still have benchmark dates we’re shooting for.
Key Objectives 3: Diversity and Inclusion in Participants
Initiatives:
Increase in outreach into underserved schools. This will take the form of: site visits to all of the Title 1 schools each year to put up signage and talk with arts teachers to help identify students who would like to participate.
Timeline: We began this work in the Winter of 2018 and is completed annually.
2. Increase in outreach into underrepresented communities. This will take the form of: strategic partnerships with organizations who serve families and youth from underserved communities. Each year, we try to reach out and begin an active partnership with at least 3 new organizations, engaging them in special programs and events but with increased funding we would like to more than double those efforts. Past examples include: Film Club at the Austin Settlement Home, Mental Health Video Competition with Texas System of Care, TOWER screening with March for Our Lives/SEA group.
Timeline: All tracked data is culled in June to inform the next year’s programming.
Performance Indicators: To monitor growth in this area, we will be keeping track of the demographics of the students who submit to the festival, students who attend events, our online audience both on social media and website views, and upon launch, the students who utilize the gear check-out resources. This data will help inform strategic partnership goals for the following year.
**2021 Priority Goal:
This year, in addition to the on-going initiatives we would like to fund a new initiative that bridges the gap between those students who have access to video equipment and those who don’t by purchasing gear that we can make available for a free rental/reservation through a local rental house that has offered their services. This inequity has been something that we have faced for a long time now, and we feel that through our extended outreach that is planned to begin this winter into many underserved and underrepresented communities by having this program in place we will now have a way to overcome student’s obstacles when they are interested, but lack of access was a barrier to entry. This barrier has only gotten more apparent this year through the pandemic creating more financial hardships and is heavily inspired by the growing demand for social justice. We feel this project could help to work toward tipping the scale away from systemic bias toward students who have easy access to tools of the trade and the correlation with having a leg-up as they create film projects and reels to get into film schools or pursue a career. This is a big step in a multi-part equity-focused artist support program we would like to implement that will hopefully include a grant for young filmmakers, professional development sessions, additional on-set mentorship placements, etc. in the future. We cannot wait to see the long-term impact a program like this could have on our community.