Fantasia Film Festival employees begin 24-hour strike and threaten further strikes

July 11, 2024

Unionized workers at the Fantasia Film Festival, whose next edition begins on July 18, began a 24-hour strike on Thursday.

The members demonstrated on Thursday in front of the downtown campus of Concordia University, where “Fantasia” is being shown.

The Syndicat des employé-es de l’événementiel (CSN-Fantasia union) said on Wednesday that there could be further strike days next week if negotiations on their first collective agreement do not progress satisfactorily.

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The union said it wanted to reach an agreement in principle “as soon as possible” to improve working conditions and prevent the strike from continuing during the festival.

In June, members voted unanimously in favor of a five-day strike, which should take place at the appropriate time.

The genre film festival has scheduled screenings of more than 125 features and over 200 short films through August 4. There will also be special events, including the presentation of a Best Career Work award to filmmaker Mike Flanagan and the world premieres of Ant Timpson’s Bookworm and André Forcier’s Ababouiné.

Justine Smith, a member of the union’s negotiating committee, said in a statement that Fantasia plans to “maintain its freelance status” for this year’s festival, even though its members have been unionized since September.

“The employer’s lack of preparation for almost a year at the negotiating table is extremely disappointing,” she said.

Two other festival unions represented by the CSN, namely the Fondation Québec Cinéma and the Festival du nouveau cinéma, have concluded their first collective agreements.

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