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![\"Jacquelyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4493878_web1_23905965_FILM-PAM-GRIER.JPG\")
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Jacquelyn Martin \/ The Associated Press Files<\/p>\n
Pioneering U.S actress Pam Grier will speak at a Winnipeg event promoting women in film careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPam Grier was such a huge get for us,\u201d Adam Smoluk, executive director of Film Training Manitoba, said Thursday.<\/p>\n
The organization launched its first SWIFT conference in 2021. It had found, through its own labour market research, that less than 30 per cent of Manitoba film trades workers identified as women.<\/p>\n
Meantime, the industry has struggled to fill jobs. Lighting, camera work, accounting \u2014 there are gaps across the board, Smoluk said.<\/p>\n
Film production value in Manitoba hit $310.1 million in 2024-25. It\u2019s a sharp increase from the $96.5 million Manitoba Film and Music reported for 2009-10.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to continually offer this event,\u201d Smoluk said, noting it\u2019s one of several initiatives Film Training Manitoba holds to draw workers.<\/p>\n
The conference is booked for Oct. 24 at the University of Winnipeg\u2019s Riddell Hall, at 411 Spence St.<\/p>\n
Grier, 77, has a decades-long career, with 111 acting credits, according to internet resource IMDB.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople that are kind of fourth quarter of their careers often feel left behind,\u201d Smoluk said. \u201cParticularly an industry where it\u2019s project based, we can attract and add a lot of value.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n \u2018Pam Grier was such a huge get for us,\u2019 says Adam Smoluk, executive director of Film Training Manitoba, while announcing Thursday in Winnipeg that the blaxploitation legend will be the keynote speaker at the Supporting Women in Film Trades conference in October.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Retaining workers in the contract-based industry can be difficult, Smoluk noted. Still, Film Training Manitoba reports increasing demand for its SWIFT conference.<\/p>\n It expects 200 attendees this year. It counted 132 participants last year and 80 in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cIts popularity led to last year\u2019s move to \u2026 Riddell Hall to accommodate SWIFT\u2019s larger audiences,\u201d said Terence Fuller, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 856.<\/p>\n The conference includes panels on job options and networking roundtables. Tickets are $70 and available on Film Training Manitoba\u2019s website.<\/p>\n gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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