SWIFT 2025 Keynote Speaker: Internationally Renowned Production Designer, Elisabeth Williams (Three-time Emmy Winner)
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025 (8:00 AM – 6:00 PM)
Location: University of Winnipeg (Riddell Hall – 411 Spence Street)
Registration Fees: General Admission: $50.00 | Students from any post-secondary school: $25.00
*Please note: Registrations are non-transferable. Registrations must be the attendees.
Film Training Manitoba (FTM) and our partners are proud to announce that the Canada’s Supporting Women in Film Trades (SWIFT) Conference 2025 is open for registration! Our conference welcomes crew members, filmmakers, performers and anyone interested in film and media. This year, the SWIFT Conference is taking place on Saturday, December 6, 2025. Our conference theme is: ACTION!: Your REEL Career!
This conference will provide customized learning and networking designed to champion the growth and development of our dynamic women-identifying and gender-diverse workers in the film industry. All speakers and panel sessions support improving the workplace culture to retain and attract more women-identifying workers within the film and media industry.
FTM is a not-for-profit charity, and we are a member of the Province of Manitoba’s Sector Council Program, which supports economic development and jobs. Canada’s SWIFT was founded in 2021 and created by a committee of 15 women film professionals.
Program Overview:
8:00 AM – 9:45 AM: Registration, breakfast & networking
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM: Panel 1 – ACTION!: Careers in Trades
This panel will feature film professionals from various backgrounds in the film trades and explore career pathways within the film industry. They will offer valuable insights from their journey, highlighting the challenges they encountered, achievements, and essential advice for the conference attendees.
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM: Networking break
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Panel 2 – Rolling!: Documentary Filmmakers on How to Get Your Project Seen & Screened – In Partnership with DOC MB (Sponsored by the Canada Media Fund)
During this panel session, Manitoba-based documentary filmmakers will share their experiences in the creative side of documentary production. They will provide learning on how to navigate challenges and how to achieve professional success.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch break
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: SWIFT 2025 Speaker: Connie Walker on Transformational Leadership
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM: Networking break
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM: Panel 3 – Close-Up!: Straight From the Source with Film Industry Labour Unions
Speakers from labour unions ACTRA, DGC-MDC, IATSE 856 and ICG 669 will provide SWIFT attendees with action-based information on the application processes and programs available for new workers. The panel will discuss topics such as preparing your resume and completing supporting documents for the permittee and training programs, and professional development.
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM: Networking break
3:30 PM – 3:35 PM: Special greeting
3:35 PM – 4:05 PM: Keynote Speaker: Elisabeth Williams
4:05 PM – 4:50 PM: Moderated Keynote session with Moderator, Tanya Mazur, FTM Board Member, Script Supervisor/Continuity (IATSE 856 ex officio) – (Sponsored by RBC)
4:50 PM – 5:00 PM: Canada’s SWIFT 2025 Award
Canada’s SWIFT Award recognizes a long-serving member of the film industry who has championed and supported women and underrepresented workers to build and grow Canada’s dynamic film industry.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Reception
SWIFT 2025 Keynote Speaker
Elisabeth Williams (she/her)
The Keynote Speaker for this years’ SWIFT Conference is Elisabeth Williams, a visual designer/artistic director who’s been working in film and television for 20 years. She has worked on projects of various styles, including psychological dramas, dreamlike and futuristic worlds, horror films, as well as period series and films. She has climbed the ranks, gaining experience in various project styles, from American films like The Score and The Human Stain to Québécois TV series (Ces Gars-là and Les Invincibles) and American ones (Fargo, and The Handmaid’s Tale).
Her diverse and varied experiences, coupled with ongoing training in drawing and design, have allowed her to stand out in Quebec, Canada, and the United States.
Since 2017, she has been involved in the visual design of the extraordinary series The Handmaid’s Tale (MGM/HULU), a role that has earned her three Emmy Awards, an ADG Award, and two Directors Guild of Canada Awards for Best Production Design (for Fargo and The Handmaid’s Tale).
Elisabeth is fascinated by the psyche and strives to translate fear, obsession, anxiety, and quirks into something visible and tangible. Her interest in psychology and sociology drives her to delve into the lives of characters and find ways to expose the various layers of their story, those beyond the script, and those that are universal and relatable to the audience.
Elisabeth has collaborated with directors such as Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique – set decorator), François Bouvier (Prozac), Martin Villeneuve (Mars et Avril), Daniel Roby (la Faille 3) and François Ozon (Je suis femme – artistic director), as well as Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes for Young Ghouls), Dominic James (Die), and Stobe Harju (Imaginaerum) for their debut feature films.
FTM is a non-for-profit charity and member of the Province of Manitoba’s Sector Council program funded through the Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources. FTM builds a highly skilled and adaptable film industry workforce to support the activities of Manitoba production companies. FTM collaborates and partners with members of the film industry to identify training needs to support workforce development.