Union to shield actors from sex harassment
I> BY CRAIG TAKEUCHI
n the wake of the #Metoo movement and a wave of sexualharassment allegations levelled against screen-industry figures, ranging from producer Harvey Weinstein and actor Kevin Spacey to comedian Louis C.K., a British Columbia union has taken action by ramping up the ways that local performers will be protected from intimidation, harassment, and assault.
A whopping 94 percent of Union of B.C. Performers (a branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists) members voted on December 19 in favour of a new contract that will include what the union is calling “precedent setting increased protections” against sexual harassment.
Under the British Columbia Master Production Agreement (BCMPA) for 2018 to 2021, producers will be required to create a statement on harassment and violence prevention that must be conveyed to cast and crew members either prior to or on the first day of production. What’s more, a zero-tolerance policy will shield performers who file a legitimate complaint about harassment from retaliation by producers or anyone acting on behalf of a producer.
One of the new stipulations regarding where auditions take place states that auditions or meetings in private hotels or residences in which a performer would be alone with a production representative will be forbidden.
> BY ADRIAN MACK
With its dual focus on contemporary and classic titles, the Vancouver 2 Italian Film Festival offers a remarkably well-rounded appreciation of one of the world’s richest cinema cultures. The Taviani brothers fall into both those categories this year, the festival’s fifth, with their latest, Rainbow: A Private Affair, screening alongside 1977’s Padre Padrone and their 1982 masterpiece, The Night of the Shooting Stars.
Elsewhere, we see Ettore Scola represented by 1977’s A Special Day, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren, while the fest also offers the chance to catch both Gerard Depardieu and Robert De Niro in their prime with the rare five-hour cut of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900.
Newer titles include the engagingly absurd Ears and the gritty Gran Turismo–set drama Italian Race, while The Great Beauty’s Toni Servillo returns as yet another misbehaving senior in Let Yourself Go. The Vancity Theatre also welcomes a return visit by Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous I Am Love, still fresh since its run in 2009, and made especially timely by the recent release of the director’s worldwide smash Call Me by Your Name.
The seven-day rave continues with documentaries, biopics, and more— all of it kicking off next Friday (January 5) with the highly touted Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle.
And lest we forget: Federico Fellini is always making a comeback at this festival. See our interview above with Nancy Cartwright—a.k.a Bart Simpson!—for more about that.