Global restructuring, pending union negotiations slow down Canada's film industry

Budget cuts, a changing media landscape and upcoming negotiations are causing some workers in Canada's film and TV industry to wonder where their next paycheque will come from. 

Paula Negritto, 45, an assistant costume designer who has worked steadily in B.C.'s film industry for the past six years, says this has been the first year she didn't have ongoing employment on a show. 

"It was a little scary," said Negrito, a single mother of four. "I wasn't sure if I was going to get anything."

Negritto says her paycheques were unsteady enough that she had to access emergency funds through her union. And although she's currently employed on NBC's The Irrational until July, she doesn't see any more work on the horizon. 

"A lot of people are worried," she said. "There's a lot of people not working."

Global restructuring

Industry insiders say streaming services that began to invest millions of dollars in new content in 2016 are now reducing that influx of cash, and upcoming negotiations with unions like the Writers Guild of America are keeping some productions from starting up in case there's a strike. 

Glen Gauthier, head of IATSE local 873, which represents film workers in Toronto, says the industry's budget changes are global in scope. 

"There is a globally restructuring of streamers looking at their business models, so they are pulling back a little bit while they look at how they want to proceed," Gauthier said.

In a recent letter to its members, IATSE 891, the union that represents motion picture workers in B.C., says slowdowns are typical in the industry but some newer members may not be used to this type of downturn after a glut of investment in new content in the last few years. 

The letter also referred ongoing negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, as well as upcoming negotiations with the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, as compounding factors. 

Too early for 'doom and gloom'

Gauthier points out that filming ground to a halt for about 12 weeks in 2008 when the Writers Guild members went on strike. But he says he's not worried yet. 

"I think it's too early to predict the doom and gloom scenario," Gauthier said. "We remain optimistic and hopeful that, you know, cooler heads prevail and they sort things out." 

New productions may be hesitant to get going, he says, but there have been lots of production in the past few months and overall the industry is healthy. 

Similarly, in B.C., industry leaders say the province is well-positioned to pick up work – a point Prem Gill, CEO of Creative B.C., illustrates with the recent announcement that the second season of the hit HBO show The Last of Us is moving production to Vancouver. 

"Changes in the industry are happening globally and we're not immune to that, but we are well positioned to get through it," Gill said.

"We're optimistic that there will be some return in productions and shows that are ending will be replaced by other shows."