Freelance employees on the Cannes Movie Competition, supported by the French labor org Sous les écrans la dèche (Broke Behind the Screens), staged a protest for the second consecutive yr at Tuesday evening’s glamorous opening ceremony.
Final yr, a small personnel protested towards their working situations, together with a rooftop demonstration through the opening evening gala. Tonight one other smattering of protestors assembled in entrance of the Palais.
Sous les écrans la dèche, which brings collectively lots of of employees at festivals, from projectionists to drivers and caterers, issued a press release saying that these actions yielded negotiations to provide you with a brand new collective settlement that may defend the livelihood of freelance employees on the movie and TV competition, however talks froze after six months of discussions, stated the org, which hoped to see an addendum to the unemployment insurance coverage rules.
France has a novel system that enables freelance employees inside the movie and TV industries to obtain advantages throughout their unemployment durations. These advantages are solely accessible to those that have labored a sure variety of hours within the yr. However that system has been threatened in recent times after the French authorities reduce the quantity paid to employees by half.
“The purpose was to outline a listing of roles eligible for the intermittent employee scheme that could possibly be included in… the unemployment insurance coverage scheme with a view to allow our professions to flee the precarious scenario created by the 2021 unemployment insurance coverage reforms,” the org wrote in its assertion. “We’re subsequently calling on all employees to mobilise as soon as once more as a result of, if we can not make a residing from our professions, what future is there for festivals?”
Celine Petit, a high-ranking CGT official based mostly in Good, informed Selection that the nationwide commerce union heart was supporting Sous les écrans la dèche and referred to as for as many employees as potential to take part in a watershed second on opening evening. Whereas protests across the Palais have been banned by the mayor of Cannes, an illustration is being organized at roughly 6:30 p.m., beginning close to Cannes’ metropolis corridor and planning to finish on the crimson carpet. Petit prompt that other than the protests, extra actions might pop up.
Forward of the competition, organizers despatched a memo to all staffers, which detailed pointers on social media use and coping with the press, and urged them to take care of a “sure political neutrality in your exchanges with festival-goers.” Regardless of reviews suggesting in any other case, organizers inform Selection that this specific language was not associated to Sous les écrans la dèche or different labor-related issues.
Among the many motion’s high-profile supporters are French filmmaker Justine Triet and Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, each of whom wore the group’s crimson pin on the crimson carpet at their Cannes premieres in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Notably, Kapadia serves on the Cannes competitors jury this yr.
