Three U.S. industry-related guild contracts are being negotiated this summer. With one for the Directors’ Guild of America recently completed, negotiations are ongoing between employers and the two remaining unions, both of which are now on strike – the Writers Guild of America (WGA) since May 2, 2023 and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) since July 14, 2023.
Impacts to the industry across North America cannot be understated, and they are especially significant for British Columbia where foreign production activity is proportionally larger than domestic. Most of the productions in B.C. have paused, with approximately 1/5 the typical count of shows in production this August and all of them smaller scale. Productions paused include those where U.S. productions are doing business in B.C. and B.C. productions where SAG-AFTRA members are employed. In production activity is tracked here on our website and updated each Monday.
In our role as the economic development organization for motion picture in B.C., we respect the negotiation process and all parties. We remain concerned for the people and the businesses experiencing serious financial impacts and are watching the situation closely. We continue to hope for a timely resolution and look forward to bringing our services to support a rapid rescaling and a return to business as usual in B.C. and across North America.
Related Links
Real-time Industry Statistics on Motion Picture in B.C.
CIERA™ 2021 for most recent historical data (see tables)
In Production List
Industry Partner Links
Motion Picture Production Industry Association (MPPIA)
- Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople (ACFC) West, Local 2020 Unifor
- Canadian Media Producers Association – BC Producers’ Branch (CMPA-BC)
- Directors Guild of Canada – BC Branch (DGC BC)
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) 891
- International Cinematographers Guild – Local (ICG) 669
- Motion Picture Association of Canada (MPA Canada)
- Union of British Columbia Performers/Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (UBCP/ACTRA)
- Teamsters Union Local 155
Media Contacts
Creative BC – Lisa Escudero
media@creativebc.com
MPPIA – Leslie Wootton
lesliew@mppia.com