About Joanne

Stories aren't neutral.

I’m Joanne Roberts, a Filipina-Canadian filmmaker, speaker, and former journalist based in Winnipeg.

I have worked across many industries and spaces where getting the story right mattered, and getting it wrong had real consequences.

That experience taught me how to listen, ask better questions, and shape stories with care. It became the foundation of my work: helping people express themselves unapologetically.

The Stories That Shape Us

Stories influence what people understand, what they trust, and whose experiences they consider meaningful.

Throughout my career, I have explored identity, culture, and belonging through journalism, documentary, film, and public conversation. My work is especially concerned with who gets heard, who is left out of the narrative, and what changes when people are given room to tell their stories.

I approach this work with empathy, curiosity, and respect for complexity. I believe people deserve to feel seen without being simplified.

Across Media & Film

My work includes the CBC series Being Asian: Competing Truths, the award-winning CBC Creator Network series I Am, and the CityNews Connect special A Filipino Heart in Canada.

As a filmmaker, I often explore the Filipino-Canadian experience. My autobiographical short film Anak won the Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition at the Gimli International Film Festival. My newest film, The Good Girl, examines identity, expectation, and the pressure many women carry to remain agreeable and easy to accept.

These projects continue to inform how I speak, teach, facilitate, and create.

Taking Up Space Through Story

As an Asian woman working in media, business, and the arts, I carry both inheritance and disruption.

I come from a culture where being “good” often meant being quiet, agreeable, and useful. Much of my work now is about using story to take up space with greater honesty: asking who has a voice, who is expected to soften theirs, and what becomes possible when we stop apologizing for being seen.

let's work together

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