2020 Tax Receipts – Update Current Address
Please contact the ACFC West office to ensure we have you current address and contact information on file to receive your 2020 Tax Receipts.
Office: (604) 299-2232
Email: info@acfcwest.com
Calltime Mental Health – Holiday Resources
Calltime Mental Health – A Caring Approach to Substance Abuse and Addiction in the Motion Picture Industry
With the combined stresses of film work and the ongoing COVID pandemic, it’s not surprising that for some, drug and alcohol use has progressed to substance abuse and addiction. When substance use get’s out of control, it can be hard to reach out for the help you need. The resources are for both those who are struggling and those who want to help.
Managing Emotions and Expectations During These Unusual Pandemic Holidays
Can We Talk About Suicide?
www.calltimementalhealth.com/blog/2020/12/15/can-we-talk-about-suicide
2021 Canadian Film Festival – BIPOC Filmmaker Deadline – December 23, 2020
In commitment to anti-racism, and elevating all Canadian voices, the 2021 Canadian Film Fest is giving away 100 submission fee waivers to BIPOC filmmakers all across Canada.
Along with that, they will be waiving the Toronto premiere status for BIPOC filmmakers, which means if a film (short or feature) has screened at a Toronto festival in the past two years, it will now also be eligible to screen at the Canadian Film Fest. Films that are already available to the general public or online before March 2021 are not eligible.
Submissions close on December 23 so make sure you apply soon!
To claim a submission fee waiver, please email Ashleigh Rains at ashleigh@canfilmfest.ca
For more information visit canfilmfest.ca
Actsafe Injury Prevention Week – September 21-25, 2020
AIP Week 2020’s theme is ‘MIND Your Health: Mental Health Awareness’ and focuses on the invisibility of mental illness, how we can all be more mindful of our mental health and how to help improve others. The aim is to bring awareness to factors such as stress, fatigue, concussion, that have an impact on an individual’s mental health and how this, in turn, affects the arts and entertainment industries.
As you are aware, as a result of the pandemic, AIP Week has become a completely virtual event where Actsafe will be sharing mental health information, resources, and hosting webinars presented by mental health experts to help reduce the stigma around mental health.
The webinars are scheduled for 10 am and 1 pm daily and you can find the full webinar schedule and registration here.
Some of the webinar topics include:
- An overview of concussions and their impacts on your mental health Philippe Saucier, SportMedBC (Monday, Sept. 21)
- Creating a Supportive Workplace: How Managers, Stewards, and Supervisors can support Mental Health Calltime: Mental Health and FSEAP (Tuesday, Sept. 22)
- Support for Performers’ Mental Health Before, During, and After COVID-19 The Professional Society of Canadian Intimacy Coordinators and Directors (Tuesday, Sept. 22)
- Returning to Work and Life in the Era of COVID-19 Dr. Joti Samra, MyWorkplaceHealth (Wednesday, Sept. 23)
- Sick and Tired: A conversation about stress and fatigue Mike Harnett, Solaris Fatigue Management (Friday, Sept. 25)
- Your Mental Health in Entertainment Production: Taking Care of Yourself and Your Peers Calltime: Mental Health and FSEAP (Friday, Sept. 25)
ACFC West 2021 Annual Dues – Payment due by October 1, 2020
The annual dues year for ACFC West, Local 2020 Unifor begins October 1st of each year and runs through to and including
September 30th of the following year. If you are currently a Member in Good Standing and have received our notice, you are
eligible to renew your membership for the upcoming year commencing October 1st, 2020.
Annual dues for the 2021 dues year, which is required to maintain your Member in Good Standing status, is $100.00.
Please note: in order to renew membership, a Member who requires a driver’s license to perform his or
her duties must provide a current drivers abstract or a signed authorization letter allowing the union to
obtain the member’s abstract.
In addition, payment of annual dues DOES NOT entitle you to renew your benefits through ACFC West, Local 2020
Unifor’s health benefits plan. However, maintaining benefits on the health plan are subject to payment of Annual Dues, and
will be immediately terminated if dues are delinquent by 30 days.
Payment Instructions:
1) In order to remain a Member in Good Standing of ACFC West, Local 2020 Unifor, you are required to pay one
payment of $100.00 for the full year. Your payment must be received at the ACFC West, Local 2020 Unifor
business office on or before October 1st, 2020.
*** This payment DOES NOT automatically entitle you to renew health benefits. ***
2) You can pay your 2021 Annual Dues by phone with Visa or Mastercard, or in-person with Cash, Debit or Cheque.
Please call our office at (604) 299-2232
3) Please mail any Cheques or Money Orders to the following address:
c/o ANNUAL DUES
ACFC West, Local 2020 Unifor
#108 – 3993 Henning Drive
Burnaby, BCV5C 6P7
Cheques and/or Money Orders should be made payable to: ACFC West, Local 2020 Unifor
ACFC Creative Pathways Workforce Roundtable – September 14, 2020
Creative BC and the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC are collaborating on an initiative called Creative Pathways, a project which aims to build a workforce that has more balanced and fair representation of British Columbians, particularly those from under-represented groups. We are hosting Creative Pathways Workforce Roundtables in September 2020 where we want to understand members’ perspectives about working in BC’s motion picture industry.
We want to hear from Members and Permittees – particularly those from underrepresented groups. The date/time for ACFC West members is Monday September 14th from 9-10am PST.
As union and guild members and permittees, the discussion will focus on the following topics: what processes or projects to advance underrepresented groups are currently in place that should be kept, what should be changed and what should be added that the industry doesn’t have in place?
We look forward to your participation. Please sign up using the registration form found HERE
BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Production Pandemic Guide
The BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Best Practices Coalition (the “Coalition”) developed this COVID-19 Pandemic Production Guide in collaboration with representatives from across BC’s Motion Picture Industry . This guide is intended to support the assessment and management of COVID-19 risk in all types of production, and to assist employers in developing their own COVID-19 safety plans.
Employers in BC are required by regulation to develop a COVID-19 Safety Plan that outlines the policies, guidelines, and procedures they have put in place to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This plan should follow the six steps outlined in WorkSafeBC’s COVID-19 and returning to safe operation guidance.
Everyone working in the film and television industry needs to consider how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work.
Click here for the BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Production Pandemic Guide
BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Safety Guidelines
Creative BC has facilitated the creation of the BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Safety Guidelines document, which ACFC recommends all Members and Permittees take a moment to read. This document is meant to help guide employers, supervisors, and workers in creating and implementing individual safety plans for each production.
While the document speaks to actions that can be taken in the work place, ACFC would like to remind you that social distancing, personal hygiene, and limiting exposure to larger groups should continue to be best practices at all times, not just at places of work. One outbreak on any set could do major damage to our entire industry. A safe set is everyone’s responsibility. Please continue to have this in mind when your work day concludes.
Click here for the BC Motion Picture Industry Best Practices COVID-19 Safety Guidelines PDF
An Update on the BC Motion Picture Industry COVID-19 Response Task Force.
Currently the film shut down in BC is completely voluntary, no order from Worksafe, or the health authority has been issued telling Producers to shut down. However, in order to return to operations productions must now have a COVID-19 response plan in place.
Crew should be aware:
- It is the responsibility of the Employer, Supervisors and Employees to, read, be familiar with and follow the guidelines of each production.
- Individual Producer’s COVID-19 plans should be made available and posted for easy access by Crew and Supervisors.
- Individual Producer’s COVID-19 plans should take into account the Worksafe motion picture industry return to operation guidelines, found here: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-returning-safe-operation/motion-picture-television-production
In addition to the Worksafe guideline for return to operation, Creative BC has been facilitating the creation of a more comprehensive set of documents as a guideline for employers to use when creating a COVID-19 plan for the work place. This document will contain an overall guide for the entire industry, as well as recommendations tailored to specific departments and workplaces common to the motion picture industry. ACFC West will update the website with a link when this document is ready.
ACFC West will continue to review our signed producers return to work plans on an ongoing basis, and work to ensure the risk of infection to all crew is minimized.