This morning in Montreal, a picket line was set-up by the workers of the Fantasia International Film Festival. With pitched tents and a colourful banner that reads “Fantasia workers deserve a living wage. On Strike,” members of the workforce congregated in front of their offices at Concordia University’s Henry F. Hall building. At 9:00 AM, the workforce officially started their first day on the picket line after voting in favour of a five-day strike in June. This year’s Fantasia festival is scheduled to begin on July 18
The decision to strike was unanimous among the employees, who are picketing due to poor working conditions and wages. During the 2023 festival, production assistants were paid an honorarium of $2000 CAD for roughly 400 hours of work. The assistants approximately worked $5 per hour without overtime pay. The legal minimum wage in Quebec is $15.75 per hour.
In September of 2023, the Fantasia Film Festival officially unionized as part of the Syndicat des employé-es de l’événementiel-CSN. For the months leading up to the festival, the team at Fantasia attempted to negotiate a fair and livable wage with the organizers. However, the employer’s lack of preparation resulted in the continuation of freelance contracts.
POV spoke with some of the members of Fantasia’s union directly from the picket line via telephone. “We created a union in large part because we love cinema. We love Fantasia because we love arts in Canada, Quebec, and Montreal,” commented Fantasia Underground programmer Justine Smith, who is currently sitting on the negotiation committee. “We want them to be more transparent. We want them to understand what allows them to function. It’s not money. It’s not corporate sponsorship. It’s the people who are on the ground doing the work.”
“We really hope that today is the only day we have to strike. However, we must continue until it’s fair to work,” says programming manager Becca McKay. “Lots of really important guests, filmmakers, and people are coming to the festival. We care about them. But it’s time for the staff to be cared about too. Fantasia pays the lowest wages out of any festival, of its scale, in Montreal. We have sold out rooms and packed volunteer lists. People love the festival. No one would do this work if they didn’t love it.”
Fantasia’s confirmed guest-list includes actor Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings, Come to Daddy), YouTuber and debut filmmaker Chris Stuckmann (Shelby Oaks), Canadian writer/director Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice), and director Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game).
“I hope that upper management starts to see us as more human beings and employees rather than tools and disposable freelancers,” says associate programmer Vincenzo Nappi.
“We’re fighting the good fight,” concurs programmer Steven Lee, while wearing a CSN union t-shirt.
Executive director Pierre Corbeil responded to the recent strike action with promising news. “We started talks with the union at the beginning of the year. We followed the schedule that was proposed to us. We basically concluded the agreement, apart from the salary discussion,” says Corbeil over a private telephone call with POV. “We’ve been talking about wages in the last two meetings. There is another meeting that will happen tomorrow at 1:00 PM. We’re very confident that we will reach an agreement. We all have the festival at heart. We totally understand this is how it is. For us, it’s a first experience. There’s always a learning curve.”
The 28th edition of the Fantasia Film Festival runs from July 18 to August 4.
