Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike seems to be a foregone conclusion, the festival publicity team and programmers will likely have their eyes on Venice and Toronto, because if there is a major event in the US, Upcoming major events could be severely affected. Under the strike rules, the actors were banned from promoting their films.
But on Ireland’s west coast, a smaller festival is taking place on Thursday when the union’s national committee meets. A formal decision has been made on whether to suspend work, a decision that could immediately affect screenings at the event.
The 30 Galway Film Festival opened Tuesday night in the coastal city with the world premiere of Miracle Club , starring Maggie Smith, Kathy Burke and Laura Linney. While the town hall was packed for that screening, another world premiere will take place on Thursday, hours after the crucial vote, and its main stars may face the prospect of not being able to attend.
Martini Star Matthew Moore Dean as an ailing film director begins what he thinks will be his last film. Directed by Stephen Wallis, this existential drama stars Derek Jacobi, John Cleese, Stuart Townsend and Fiona Starring Fiona Glascott, will premiere at 9.30 local time, full-screen premiere. Four and a half hours after the strike vote.
The Hollywood Reporter understands that Modine is already in Galway for the premiere, but if the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA go on strike, Union strike rules could prevent him from attending the premiere premiere to promote the film.
Interestingly, Modine also stars in
Oppenheimer , which opened Thursday night in London held its UK premiere. In response to a potential walkout, Universal Pictures postponed the red carpet by an hour, hoping to include Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Celebs, including Pu, had time to pose for photoshoots and conduct press interviews without violating SAG-AFTRA strike rules.
Modine – In another interesting twist, he took on current SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher in the union’s
Leadership Election – was also at a masterclass in Galway on Saturday but THR heard about this as it wasn’t directly related to the film or any publicity work Related, this should be unaffected.
Elsewhere in the festival, Galway Film Fair has become a key industry event and co-production hub, bringing together filmmakers from around the world with film funds, distributors and decision-makers from film companies. Platforms, including Magnolia, Mubi, Neon, Film4 and Bankside Films, among others. The industry sector, which began on Thursday, and the many meetings and talks it has scheduled, are unlikely to be affected by the strike, but one source said it would “be the talk of the market.”
In a quote sent to
THR, Galway Films Fleadh CEO Miriam Allen expressed her solidarity with the union but also noted the vital nature of the festival.
“While we are very supportive of our cast and writers’ efforts to reach fair deals with major studios and streamers, we believe it’s still important to continue to bring audiences our great movies.” she says.
Galway Film Fleadh ends in July with screening of Cyndi Lauper’s documentary Let the canary sing , the singer will be present.
