WIFTI Member Nikki Cole shares her experience at Content London 2023. Content London is a stimulating event in the global content industry calendar. Over three days it brings the global drama, formats, and factual communities together around a conference, awards, and networking agenda. Nikki mentions: “I just had a wonderful, productive time at Content London. The industry is buzzing as we head post-strike into the ‘new normal’. Lots of good meetings, networking, and invaluable panels.”
Nikki Cole, a member of WIF LA and WIFT Toronto, an entertainment professional who writes, directs, and produces shows for leading production studios, also attended the Women in Film and Television International Summit (WIFTI) in Helsinki, Finland this year.
At the Helsinki event, Nikki listened to many of these panels and specifically participated in the ageism session. As an entertainment professional who has been creating award-winning films and TV series for quite some time, she recognizes how big of a problem it is. Nikki is a member of several women’s equity groups focused on increasing gender and age diversity within film and television. She mentors for Women In Film and Television Toronto and is a member of multiple guilds and non-profits such as The Director’s Guild of Canada, Alliance of Women Directors, Women In the Director’s Chair, the CMPA, Film Fatales, Greenlight Women, and WIF LA.
Remembering the WIFTI Summit
Nikki was immensely grateful to attend the WFTI summit as she was the recipient of a travel grant from The Canada Council for the Arts. Recent times have been difficult for her as the industry and its creatives are grappling with strikes and a reduction in available work. Nikki finds the silver lining in these experiences, while she looks forward to the projects she is currently working on being green-lit.
“I’ve been to Helsinki before,” says Nikki, “However, attending the Women in Film and Television International Summit (WIFTI) was a one-of-a-kind experience. I was overjoyed to join the diverse and inclusive atmosphere with many other talented professionals including non-binary participants and male allies. It was especially eye-opening to speak with internationally respected leaders from all over the planet, including representatives from Botswana, Jamaica, Israel, and the Northern Sammi indigenous people. The summit was full of surprises including daily saunas, amazing food, art walks, an opera performance, and an emotional handover from outgoing founder and president Helene Granqvist to incoming president Susan Liddy. I so look forward to furthering and strengthening the relationships I made there.”
In the future, Nikki plans to continue promoting messages of diversity and inclusion while continuing to develop, produce, and direct her own films and series, and collaborating with partners in the film and television industry.