French producers’ and directors’ unions the ARP and SRF have expressed their solidarity with US unions WGA and SAG-AFTRA in their ongoing strikes, even as the local film industry continues to keep mostly quiet regarding the parallel protests.
The ARP, the French Association of Film Directors and Producers and Directors Guild the SRF (Societe des Realisatrices et Realisateurs de Films) released a statement on Thursday (July 20) expressing their “full solidarity” with the 11,500 US screenwriters and 160,000 actors on strike. They described the strikes as a “double social movement” and “the sign of a major turning point” and referenced the importance of issues at stake such as shared values, the integration of new models and artificial intelligence.
“This battle, which is shaping the industry of tomorrow, crosses borders. It is ours too. We will continue to strive for a fair industry, where creative diversity can flourish,” said the statement. “At the heart of these demands is the future of our industry. To ensure that authors and artists continue to emerge and renew creation, we need to adapt the sharing of value to the new distribution models, so that the transition to delineation does not lead to a weakening of creators.”
They also highlighted the importance of providing a framework for the arrival of artificial intelligence. “Artificial intelligence can only present opportunities for our industry if we preserve the central role of authors and artists.”
Mostly silent
Despite the country’s affinity for organised protests of all forms, the French film industry has remained mostly silent on the parallel strikes to date. On a global solidarity day to support the WGA in mid-June spearheaded by France’s La Guilde des Scénaristes and Federation of Screenwriters in Europe, the event gathered less than 50 people at the Place de Trocadero, many of whom were visiting WGA members.
Unlike the Equity solidarity rallies in the UK planned for this week, so far no similar displays of support have occurred, though the period is typically quite quiet as the French head off on long holidays in the summer months.
One reason for this is that French writers are well-protected by the country’s auteur-forward system and, as streamers struck down on French soil, the SACD, that manages rights for writers and composers, struck key deals with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney. The deals ensure French writers receive royalties in France and other countries with which it has pacts, which doesn’t include the US.
As for on-screen talent, a French actors union – the SFA (French Union of Artists and Performers) – does exist but isn’t mandatory as SAG-AFTRA is as, unlike the US union, membership is not required for perfomers to access crucial benefits such as health insurance. As such, it isn’t very active in the country to date.
In theory, all of France’s actors could join the union and then go on a SAG-AFTRA-inspired strike, but that is unlikely to occur. The outcome of the SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP talks will affect French talent in that their agents can then negotiate better residual contracts and other terms for their clients working on US studio or streamer projects.
French actors have yet to speak out on the matter even if, as one of France’s leading talent agents Laura Meerson of Adequat tells Screen : “All of the French actors shooting abroad are affected by this. Everything has shut down, so all of our talents working on American projects are all on stand-by.”
Despite a lack of public displays of support, renowned French casting director Juliette Menager who is working on a slew of high-profile projects including Emily in Paris, The Walking Dead and Etoile in addition to the second season of historical drama Marie Antoinette said there is a tacit sense of team spirit amid the ongoing uncertainty. The Paris-based shoots of three of those productions are presently on hold due to the two strikes; Marie Antoinette is due to start in October.
While French and European talent could technically work on a US studio or streamer project , Menager said that they won’t replace SAG actors: “everybody sticks together.”
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