Cinema workers are set to disrupt Sundance London, the capital’s independent film festival, for a second year in a row. Workers at the Picturehouse Cinemas chain, which hosts screenings and evenings, will picket Thursday’s opening night event, as well as striking for two days.
Members of cinema workers’ union, Bectu, have been engaged with Picturehouse management for two years in a dispute over pay and union recognition. Striking workers say Picturehouse refuses to negotiate over issues such as sick and parental pay, and the London living wage (currently £10.20).
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesman for Picturehouse said it was “deeply disappointed” by the “unnecessary and destructive” decision to strike during “a celebration of independent film and a catalyst for a more inclusive film industry”. The cinema chain claimed only 8% ofstaff had voted for the action and maintained they offered some of the best pay and benefits in the industry.
Representatives for the strikers disputed these figures, however, saying that 96% of staff at Central, Crouch End, East Dulwich and Hackney Picturehouses were in favour of continued strike action. Staff working an eight-hour shift at Picturehouse’s London branches earn £9.37 per hour, equivalent to £9.99 when paid breaks are factored in. Curzon, Picturehouse’s major arthouse competitor in London, is a Living Wage-accredited employer.
Sundance London, which screens selected titles from the Utah-based festival in the spring, runs for four days at Picturehouse Central, near Piccadilly Circus. Key UK premieres include Debra Granik’s Leave no Trace, much-acclaimed horror Hereditary and Paul Schrader’s comeback, First Reformed.
Workers plan to picket on Thursday evening, and strike at Central, Hackney, East Dulwich and Crouch End Picturehouses on Thursday and Saturday. Their roles will be filled by cover staff, who also understudied at last year’s festival and during numerous other strikes.
Speaking to the Guardian, Alisdair Cairns, a projectionist at Hackney Picturehouse, said workers felt “let down” that Sundance had renewed their relationship with the chain. Cairns described the decision as “disappointing”, particularly given that Sundance London’s programming highlights issues of wealth inequality.
In a statement, representatives for the strikers pointed out that the likes of the Human Rights Watch film festival and the London short film festival had severed ties with Picturehouse over the dispute “because of the negative impact on their reputations”.
“We call on Sundance,” they continued, “as well as others including the BFI London film festival to encourage Picturehouse to resolve this dispute, or withdraw from their partnerships moving forward. This industrial dispute is widely recognised within the industry, and workers will continue to use their human right to withdraw labour until the industry itself treats financial inequality in the same vain as all other abuses.”
Sundance confirmed they were aware of the dispute. “As an arts organisation that champions independent voices,” they said, “we have long believed in the importance of free speech and support the right to take industrial action. We understand and acknowledge this is a complex issue between Picturehouse and their employees.”
Picturehouse was bought by Cineworld in 2012; the chain currently includes 24 boutique-style cinemas. A standard adult ticket at Picturehouse Central costs £16.50.
The pay disputes began in 2014 at the Ritzy in Brixton, leading to 13 strikes over one summer. Staff secured a 26% pay rise over two years, but not the London living wage.
Last year, Patrick Stewart, Susan Sarandon and Mark Rylance were among high-profile names backing a boycott of the chain until staff were paid the London living wage.
At their AGM in May 2018, a small shareholder revolt greeted the move to grant a substantial pay increase to Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger, whose salary in 2016 was £2.5m.
Obi Saiq, a striker at Hackney Picturehouse, told PA: “We take no pleasure in disrupting the festival – but unless Picturehouse is willing to sit down and talk to its workers, we have no choice.
“We staff a chain of cinemas which makes over a hundred million pounds’ worth of profit – but we go home to flats we can’t afford to rent, and regularly have to choose between heating and food.”
