Is Quebec's film and theatre industry 15 years behind Hollywood when it comes to diversity?

Sharon James has been working as an actress in Montreal since 2007. She said she's been lucky to find opportunities, but there aren't always enough to go around.

"I've heard a lot of people saying, 'Why are you still here? Go to Toronto. Go anywhere else: you're going to get work way more. There's more opportunities.'"

"But this is my home."

James is a member of Le Collectif Elles, a group of black female artists. On Saturday, the collective will hold a day of panel discussions, along with a photo exhibit, at the Phi Centre on St-Pierre Street in Old Montreal.

The aim of the event is to celebrate black women who have worked hard to make it in the province's film, television and theatre industry.

"We find that there hasn't been many opportunities for black artists, especially female black artists, to be recognized," James told CBC Montreal's Daybreak earlier this week.

James quoted the leader of the Union des artistes (UDA), Sophie Prégent, who has said that when it comes to the representation of people from racially diverse backgrounds on screen and on stage, Montreal is 15 years behind Hollywood and 10 years behind Toronto.

Despite this gloomy forecast, James is optimistic that in the wake of controversies like #OscarsSoWhite, times are changing.

"In the last three years, there's been a change in the way that we're getting auditions," she said.

James said the market is ready for stories about diverse experiences, and there is a rising "consciousness of the lack of diversity on screens, in general."

"Netflix is full of diversity," she said. 

Schelby Jean-Baptiste, a Montreal actress and member of the collective, said she's grateful to the black female artists who helped paved the way for new emerging artists to find a platform.

The kind of roles in film, television and theatre open to black women is broadening, from functional roles to roles for leading ladies, she said.

A functional role, she explained, is a character that fills in a story but doesn't necessarily come with a complex psychological profile — "a character that has meat on it," Jean-Baptiste said.

But it's not just acting roles that make a difference when it comes to representation and diversity, members of the collective said. The panel discussions will also feature sessions for screenwriters and directors.

Quebec catching up: UDA

Sophie Prégent said when she first became president of the UDA six and a half years ago, she saw the huge gap in representation on Quebec screens.

"I watch lots of American television," she said. She saw black actors stepping into lead roles in the U.S., but "this wasn't the case in Quebec."

Prégent shares James's optimism that things are now changing.

"The casting directors who work in French in Quebec, they are looking for more people from diverse backgrounds," she said.

Prégent suggested this is connected to a rising awareness of a need to diversify the people portrayed on stage and on screen, a move toward a more "open" Quebec, and a search for new talent.

"The only way to find these actors is to audition them," she said.

But Prégent echoes Jean-Baptiste's concern that there still aren't enough leading roles for men and women from racially diverse backgrounds.

She said there's an "under-representation" of stories that centre around racially diverse characters and their experiences, but she's optimistic that, too, is changing.

Listen to Mike Finnerty's interview with Sharon James and Schelby Jean-Baptiste:

The event, called Elles; leurs histoires or Them; their stories, takes place at the Phi Centre, at 407 St-Pierre Street in Old Montreal, on Saturday, Feb. 15.