Festival De Cannes 2024: Why Is The Biggest Film Festival Facing Protests?

A collective representing freelance workers involved in film festivals across France has announced plans for a strike coinciding with the upcoming Cannes Film Festival which is set to commence next Monday (May 14). Named Sous les écrans, la dèche (Struggling Behind the Screens), the labor group emphasized that the strike aims not to halt the festival or disrupt film premieres, but rather to bring attention to their cause.

Historically, labor strikes at Cannes are exceptionally rare. The festival experienced such action only once in its 76-year history, during the tumultuous events of May 1968, when widespread protests shook France, involving notable figures like Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Claude Lelouche. This time, the strike is led by behind-the-scenes workers. Sous les écrans, la dèche represents up to 200 French film festival workers, including those from Cannes and other festivals nationwide, who voted on Monday (May 6th) to proceed with the strike.

Why Is The Cannes Film Festival Facing Protests?

The primary goal of the strike is to highlight the increasing precariousness faced by workers in France’s film industry and to advocate for labor protections for freelancers in the field, the group stated in a released statement. One of their key demands is for all film festival employers to honor a collective agreement that grants freelance contractors the benefits associated with France’s unique status for intermittent show business workers, known as “intermittents du spectacle.”

However, the group argues that these benefits have gradually eroded due to government actions, with many film festival workers finding it difficult to qualify due to the nature of their employment. The collective asserts that negotiations with employers and cinema institutions have reached an impasse, leading to the decision to stage a strike at one of the world’s most prominent cinema events.

The strike involves workers in various essential roles such as projectionists, programmers, PR representatives, ticketing staff, and guest relations, potentially causing significant disruptions during the festival.

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How Is Cannes Responding To The Protests?

Responding to the situation, festival organizers issued a joint statement urging all parties to engage in dialogue to find a resolution and avert a strike. They acknowledged the challenges faced by some of their staff due to reforms in the French unemployment insurance scheme and expressed readiness to facilitate ongoing discussions to address these concerns. The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to take place from May 14th to May 25th, featuring numerous film screenings and attracting thousands of spectators to the coastal city of Cannes.

In the statement shared with a leading Hollywood publication, the festival said it is “aware of the difficulties faced by some of their staff who, working on strings of contracts for film festivals, are affected by the reform of the French unemployment insurance scheme, and must grapple with a drop in their benefits.”

The statement further mentioned, “Faced with this situation, we hope that solutions will be found, and are prepared to set up lasting dialogue conditions to support them. Aware of the sounding board that the Cannes Festival and its parallel selections represent, we understand the timeliness of these demands. But in order to undertake a constructive reflection aimed at reforming the status of these workers, all the festivals concerned, the institutions, and the unions need to come together around the bargaining table. This is the work that must now be undertaken collectively”.

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