The Toronto International Film Festival says it will keep planning this year’s festivities despite the impact of looming Hollywood strikes.
On Thursday, leaders of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted to join screenwriters in a move that will shut down production across the entertainment industry.
In a statement released following the vote, TIFF urged its industry partners and colleagues to “resume an open dialogue.”
A spokesperson said teams “will continue planning for this year’s festival with the hope of a swift resolution in the coming weeks.”
The (SAG-AFTRA) represents more than 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers. The walkout affects only the union's 65,000 actors from television and film productions.
- READ MORE: Hollywood actors join screenwriters in historic industry-stopping strike as contract talks collapse
They will join the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America who have been on strike since their own talks collapsed and their contract expired on May 2.
The stoppage has shown no signs of a solution, with no negotiations planned.
The strikes come with less than two months before TIFF 2023 is scheduled to kick off, and after a number of years forced virtual for the festival.
Last year’s event was the first held in-person since 2019. While TIFF was held in both 2020 and 2021, it was a scaled-back version of the usually mammoth event with fewer showings and capacity restrictions in place. TIFF's first year operating during the pandemic, in 2020, saw the festival make about $26 million in revenue, nearly half of what it took in the year before.
In August 2022, the federal government invested $10 million in the festival to support its in-person return.
TIFF 2023 is scheduled to take place from Sept. 7 to 17.
With files from CP24's Chris Fox and the Associated Press.
