The Film Task Force is a diverse group of film industry and community stakeholders that advise the Office of Film + Music and the City of Seattle on ways to best support and grow the local film industry and community. The Task Force has developed standing committees that are focused on equity and inclusion, the film commission, film production in Seattle, and making Seattle a prime location for film production.  

Civil rights are human rights. The Seattle film industry, like all industries in the United States, is inequitable to people of color, women, queer, transgender, nonbinary, people with disabilities, and people from economically disadvantaged areas. This Film Task Force Equity and Inclusivity subcommittee advises the Office of Film + Music on developing policies, initiatives, and procedures that address equity and inclusivity for underserved communities and persons of color access to and integration within Seattle’s film industry. The subcommittee works to ensure that the Office of Film + Music embeds anti-racism in all functions of the office. In order to sustain equitable programming and initiatives, the Film Task Force Equity subcommittee recommend these short and long term steps:  

Short Term 

• Anti-Racism Education – Provide race and equity training to empower the Office of Film + Music, Film Task Force, and future Film Commission to become industry leaders of anti-discrimination.  
• Create Local Industry Equity and Inclusivity Standards – Provide a framework that establishes an industry-wide standard to recognize and eliminate racial injustice, white fragility, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ageism, ableism and other issues long prevalent in the industry. 

Long Term  

• Inclusive Hiring Commitments 
  • Create channels, networks, and pipelines that bypass barriers to entry for BIPOC voices, stories, cast and crew.  
  • Address historic inequities in the industry through initiatives and programs. 

• Pursue Incentives – Hiring and Permitting 
  • Advocate within the industry to consider inclusion riders as an industry standard in Seattle. 
  • Advise on the development, implementation, and standardization of education incentives. 
  • Advise on the development of mentorships and apprenticeships for youth BIPOC in the film industry. 
  • Provide incentive financial programs or free City services, priority permitting for applicants that demonstrate hiring of BIPOC cast and crew for their production. Educating the broader film industry about the benefits of a diverse film community. 

Through public facing meetings, the Equity and Inclusivity subcommittee has learned community engagement is especially important to this work, and is what our industry wants and needs. There is overwhelming industry support for a cultural reset. The public application and referral process for applicants to the commission shall proceed with diversity of members’ race, and gender a primary consideration.   

This is a turning point in the history of the film industry in Seattle.  We want to make sure the development of a Film Commission is based in public transparency and opportunity, so everyone benefits from its success. We look forward to working with the City and Office of Film + Music to ensure the Film Commission gets off to a great start. 

The Film Task Force works as representatives of the regional film community and industry, acting as their voice for the economic development of film in our region. The Film Task Force centers its representations with the understanding that the local film industry is the backbone of the content and creative industries, and its success is in the economic, cultural, and educational interest of the region.