Across British Columbia’s expansive and dynamic motion picture industry, meaningful inclusion grows through the people working tirelessly to rethink and rebuild the systems behind the scenes. The Voices from the Field series highlights professionals whose lived experience and expertise illuminate the many pathways into the screen industry and the vital contributions that shape the stories audiences connect with, from the topics explored, to the production process, and the cast and crew bringing those stories to life.
One of the most transformative movements in this landscape is the push toward disability inclusion, an essential and long‑overdue shift. At the forefront of this work is Winnie Luk, the inaugural Executive Director of the Disability Screen Office (DSO). A senior leader with more than three decades of experience across the non-profit, entertainment, and public spheres, Winnie has built a career rooted in accessibility, equity, and community‑building.
In this Q&A, Winnie reflects on the journey that brought her to the DSO, the systemic shifts the industry must take to fully include disabled creatives, and the urgency of creating working environments where people feel safe to be themselves. She also shares why this work is as much about culture as it is about policy, and how sustainable leadership, stronger data, and proactive design can help build a more accessible, humane, and future‑ready film and television industry.
Read along to discover Winnie’s insights into the programs and priorities shaping the DSO’s next chapter, the stories that reaffirm why this work matters, and the tools that can help disabled creatives enter and thrive in the field.
Can you share a bit about your background and what inspired you to work in advocacy for disability representation in the screen industry?
I began working with the disability community as a young person while leading programs in Toronto Parks and Recreation. Accessibility was embedded in all the programs I delivered, and my final role at the City of Toronto was supervising accessibility programming for Parks and Recreation. That early grounding shaped my understanding that inclusion must be intentional, resourced, and built into systems from the start.
My lifelong encounters with mobility disabilities, chronic pain, and ADHD, as well as my identities as a Chinese queer woman, fuel my passion for advocating for accessibility rights and fostering equity across all communities.
I later left City Hall to join Inside Out, the presenter of the Toronto and Ottawa 2SLGBTQI+ Film Festival, where I worked for 16 years, ultimately serving as Director of Operations and Events. I made that transition because I was just coming out at the time and wanted to immerse myself more deeply in my community. That move shifted my career into the screen sector and allowed me to combine community advocacy with film and cultural work.
Among my other leadership roles, I served as Managing Director of Rainbow Railroad for four years, supporting persecuted LGBTQI+ individuals seeking safe haven around the world. During that time, while doing what was often life-and-death work, I was also navigating my own mobility disabilities and two years of severe sciatica. I never took disability leave and worked around the clock, which ultimately led to burnout. That experience deeply shaped my commitment to sustainable leadership and healthier working conditions.
Stepping into the Executive Director role at the Disability Screen Office felt both pivotal and fateful, marking a culmination of my 30-plus-year career across the nonprofit, public, and screen sectors. It brings together my lifelong lived experience with disability, my work in advancing disability inclusion, my leadership in the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and my experience in film and entertainment.
What inspires me most about disability advocacy in the screen industry is the understanding that representation is not only about who appears on screen, but also about who gets to create, lead, and shape the stories behind it. Disabled creatives deserve equitable access, meaningful accommodations, and sustainable working environments. My goal is not only to improve representation, but to help build a screen industry that is more accessible, humane, and inclusive for everyone.
What role does the DSO play in shaping a more inclusive and accessible film and television landscape?
The DSO is here to help build a Canadian screen industry where disabled creatives can thrive. We focus on opening doors for people with disabilities at every level, whether they are writers, directors, producers, performers, crew, or exploring a career in the field. A central part of our work is pushing for systemic change by encouraging funders, broadcasters, production companies, festivals, as well as unions, guilds, and professional associations to embed accessibility and disability inclusion into their policies, agreements, and planning from the outset.
Our advocacy extends into regulatory and government relations work. We engage with bodies such as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and work with the Government of Canada to help shape the frameworks that influence funding, accountability, and industry standards. We believe accessibility must be reflected in regulation, policy, and measurable outcomes.
We also lead national research to better understand who is working in the industry, who seeks to participate, and what barriers stand in their way. Alongside this, we are developing practical tools and initiatives, including the Industry Resource Hub and new training programs, to support productions in embedding accessibility into their daily operations.
Our work is also preventative. The screen industry can be physically and mentally demanding, and without thoughtful practices, it can contribute to injury, burnout, and long-term disability. By promoting more sustainable working conditions, we are objectively helping to prevent new barriers and harm. All of this is grounded in our mission to develop opportunities for disabled creatives and advocate for a more accessible Canadian screen industry.
What are the DSO’s goals in the near future?
Looking ahead, we are focused on continuing to build programs and tools that can make a genuine difference for disabled creatives.
We recently launched the Industry Resource Hub, which lists venues with accessibility features, service providers, and other helpful resources in one place so people are not spending hours searching on their own. Our multi-year research project, Mapping Representation and Barriers to Participation by People with Disabilities in the Screen-Based Media and Broadcasting Sectors, is moving into its next phase. We’ll be launching our Best Practices Guide later this year, which we hope will help shift industry standards.
We are also working on programs such as the Screen Festival Accessibility Program, which supports festivals as they strengthen their accessibility practices, and the Accessibility and Disability E-Learning Series, which provides industry professionals with a clear introduction to accessibility laws and regulations at both the federal and provincial levels.
Through our Industry and Community Partnership Programs, including our Industry Events Access Program, we are creating more opportunities for disabled creatives to attend key industry events, make connections, and grow their careers. Another priority for us is developing the Production Accessibility Role Initiative, in association with the National Screen Institute, to establish a new role in the industry—the Production Accessibility Lead (PAL)—so that accessibility becomes part of how productions operate from day one.
We are also ramping up our advocacy work with regulators and government officials. Disabled creatives are highly skilled and ready to work, but the barriers they face too often keep them out of the workforce, costing Canada millions in lost opportunities and foregone economic growth. To change that, we need policy grounded in Canada’s legislative commitments, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Accessible Canada Act, and the Broadcasting Act. Research shows that narrowing this gap could add tens of billions to Canada’s GDP and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
We have already begun to see tangible impact, with the industry rallying around this work and demonstrating a clear appetite for change. Our growth speaks to how strongly the sector both wants and needs this leadership at this moment. We are deeply grateful to the partners, funders, and community members whose support has helped lay this foundation.
And of course, one of our key ongoing priorities is securing stable, long-term funding so the DSO can continue to grow and support the community for years to come. We welcome conversations with funders and organizations interested in partnering with us to advance this work and build a more inclusive and economically resilient screen industry.
Are there any particular projects or initiatives you’ve been part of that really affirmed why this work matters to you?
Honestly, every DSO initiative reminds me why this work matters. Whether it is our research, our partnership programs, or our efforts to make festivals and productions more accessible, each one reinforces that we are laying essential groundwork in an industry that still has much to learn about disability, access, and equity. There is a great deal of education and understanding still needed, and we see our role not only as helping to build that foundation, but also as creating a space where people feel safe to ask questions, acknowledge what they do not yet know, and engage in honest conversation without fear of judgment.
I attend many industry events, and something that happens often is that people disclose their disability to me, even though they do not feel safe doing the same in their workplaces. This is not limited to emerging professionals. Senior staff, CEOs, and executives have also shared, sometimes for the first time, that they have disabilities and have long ignored their own access needs in order to succeed in this industry. Many worry that being open could lead to fewer opportunities, being judged, or being perceived differently.
Hearing this over and over again shows me just how urgent this work is. And every time someone tells me that they never believed there was room for them in film and television until they found the DSO, it reinforces that inclusion can change the course of someone’s life.
What are some of the biggest challenges the industry faces in creating authentic disability representation, and how do you approach those challenges?
One of the most significant barriers is attitudinal. Cultural biases and systemic ableism continue to shape how disability is perceived across the screen sector, influencing casting, hiring, commissioning, and everyday workplace dynamics. Viewing disability through a lens of risk and limitation, rather than talent and expertise, narrows who is invited into the room and whose stories are told.
As a result, disabled creatives remain significantly underrepresented, both on camera and behind it, which leads to stereotypes and a lack of authentic storytelling. We also have very little historical data in Canada on who is working in the industry, who wants to be working, and what barriers they face, which is why our national mapping study, survey, and focus groups are so important.
Many of the basic accessibility issues productions continue to run into, from physical access and communication supports to general awareness and training, arise because disability was not considered when decisions were made. Our Production Accessibility Lead (PAL) role is one way we are working to address this. The PAL will help ensure that accessibility is present in conversations about budgets, locations, scheduling, and workflow from the outset, moving productions from accommodation to proactive accessible design.
At the same time, lasting change requires leadership at the policy level. Funders, broadcasters, production companies, and festivals must build accessibility and disability inclusion into their expectations and requirements, embedding them into funding criteria, regulatory frameworks, and accountability measures. That is why we are working with institutions such as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Government of Canada, including Canadian Heritage, to help inform the policies and funding structures that shape how the screen industry operates. Through research, education, training, policy advocacy, and community building, we aim to ensure that disabled creatives are part of decision-making processes and that accessibility becomes standard practice across the sector.
From your perspective, what are some practical steps productions can take to make sets and stories more welcoming and accessible for people with disabilities?
One of the most important ones is to think about accessibility from the very beginning. This ideally includes designating a Production Accessibility Lead, someone who can help assess access needs during the entire cycle of a production, so that accessibility is built in at the beginning and into the foundation of the project.
Productions can also make use of the resources available through the Industry Resource Hub, which helps teams find accessible venues, hire accessibility professionals, and secure accommodations such as ramps, accessible washrooms, or communication supports.
Training is another essential step. When cast and crew understand disability rights, know how to communicate respectfully, and are familiar with inclusive language and universal design principles, the entire environment becomes safer and more welcoming to everyone. That responsibility also sits with employers, producers, and department heads. Creating an inclusive set means proactively inviting conversations about access needs from the outset, rather than waiting for someone to disclose or struggle. Everyone has access needs, whether they identify as disabled or not, and normalizing those conversations helps reduce stigma and build a healthier working culture.
Authentic casting and hiring also make a meaningful difference. This means hiring disabled actors for disabled roles and bringing disabled writers, directors, producers, and crew into the creative process rather than relying on non-disabled people to tell those stories. When disabled creatives are present at every level of production, the work becomes more nuanced, more truthful, and more reflective of lived experience.
Alongside this, productions can help build a stronger talent pipeline by supporting mentorships, internships, and training programs for disabled creatives, and by forming partnerships with disability-led organizations. This can lead to sets where disabled creatives are not only accommodated, but truly included, supported, and able to do their best work.
What are the key resources, communities, and tools you’d provide to someone with a disability entering the industry?
It can be hard to know where to begin, and that is exactly why we encourage disabled creatives to see themselves not only as participants in the industry, but as contributors to shaping it. One of the most important steps is self-identification. Whether it is through the Canadian census, funding applications, festival and event registrations, or workplace forms, checking the disability box matters. Accurate data collection directly influences policy, funding, and accountability. Without that data, our community remains undercounted and under-resourced.
We also encourage people to advocate for their access needs early and clearly. Ask for accommodations proactively rather than waiting until a barrier becomes urgent. Share your story and lived experience when it feels safe to do so. Put up your hand during panels and presentations. Ask questions. If the “A” is missing from DEIA conversations, name it. These actions may feel small, but collectively they help shift culture and expectations.
The DSO’s Industry Events Access Program is especially valuable for early-career creatives, providing access to major industry events where relationships are built and opportunities often begin. We are also proud to collaborate with AccessCBC and the National Screen Institute’s Disabled Producers Lab, and to amplify work such as Ophira Calof’s Disabled Writers Lab report, all of which help strengthen pathways for disabled writers, producers, and creators.
Our Industry Resource Hub is another important tool, offering a centralized starting point with practical guides, tools, and sector-specific resources focused on accessibility. As we move into Phase 2 of the program, we will be developing a searchable database of disabled talent to increase discoverability and promote employment opportunities. And, as our national research study continues to roll out, its findings will also provide a clearer picture of where opportunities exist, what barriers persist, and how to navigate the industry with greater confidence and clarity.
Beyond the DSO, organizations such as the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, and other regional agencies offer training programs, talent development initiatives, and funding streams that can help you build skills and gain meaningful production experience. For people exploring different roles or trying to understand the path ahead, Reel Canada has a great Career Guide, and the Black Screen Office (BSO) has published a wonderful Talent Level Chart that breaks down each stage of the filmmaking journey and what to expect, which can help you figure out where you are and what your next steps might be.
And finally, connecting with disability-led arts and media organizations across the country can offer community, mentorship, and a sense of belonging. These groups understand the unique challenges disabled creatives face, and they operate with the belief that your voice and lived experience are essential to the future of storytelling.
