How are international producers capitalizing on the strike? SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree reveals surprising news at TIFF

During Screen Talk at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, host Anne Thompson was joined by SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who appeared live on stage at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre.

He said that although there has been no progress on the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) returning to the bargaining table as of the latest developments noticed around the actors' strike, However, the plan to give interim agreements has been encouraging.

He said:

"The goal of an interim agreement is to really prove to the industry and the world at large that the studio’s position is unreasonable, which it is, and I know this because there are over 1200 independent productions that would love to produce under our interim agreement."

However, there is good news for international producers who are not bound by SAG guidelines.

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International producers have the opportunity to fill the production gap left by the SAG-AFTRA strikes

The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have kept the film industry on hold for a long time now. The independent film industry is starting to prepare for the possibility that the actor and writer walkouts could potentially last for months, possibly well into next year, as there is no end in sight to the dual strikes, according to SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who was speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It's inevitable that production will decrease as the strike continues. This is where international producers have a huge opportunity to capitalize. International producers believe they could be well-positioned to fill the production shortfall since they are not constrained by SAG restrictions and have easier access to soft money in the form of government subsidies and tax credits.

Danish producer Louise Vesth, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, said:

"It looks like most buyers have enough movies to hold them through the end of the year but after that, there could be an opportunity."

In a panel at the Venice Film Festival, the president of the Italian National Audiovisual Association, Francesco Rutelli, said:

"If supply decreases with Hollywood on strike, we need to be ready with our products for the international market as well."

Several international distributors claimed they were already considering non-American films to complete their schedules for 2024 and 2025. One London-based producer claimed that English-language films might feel Hollywood-ish in other markets, making them a good substitute for American films. Many people are looking towards the British, Australian, and Canadian films with big stars, the producer further added.

However, producer Fabien Westerhoff, working with the British production company Film Constellation, made a remark about the situation too. He claimed that non-American films will not be able to replace the missing U.S. productions in the international film market for a prolonged period of time. He claimed:

“U.S. productions cater to a specific corner of the market, so the opportunity effect for non-U.S. films is limited from a distribution point of view.”

While international producers look to capitalize on the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, many ready-to-develop Hollywood productions are deciding whether to apply for temporary agreements from the unions. These temporary agreements would allow them to start shooting while being bound by the conditions SAG demanded of AMPTP on July 12, 2023. These conditions include things like using particular metrics to calculate streaming residuals, which have been rejected by studios and streams earlier.