Anita Hill-vel Hollywood Commission has launched a new set of resources aimed at improving workplace safety in independent film production.
As part of the organization's Respect on Set initiative, the online tools were developed in close collaboration with INDIE, IATSE Committee on Prevention of Sexual Harassment for low-budget producers, which was created last year and is headed by Jeanette Volturno, Monica Levinson and Bart Rosenblatt.
The resources provide a ready-to-use toolkit for third-party manufacturers, including sample codes of conduct, customizable policy templates, pre-production audit and implementation checklists, communication tools, training resources and practical guidance on how to carry out responsibilities IATSELow Budget Agreement (LBA) (which applies to films with budgets under $15 million).
Under current IATSE LBA law, employers must establish multiple ways to report harassment or abusive behavior, which does not include any complaints made to the union itself. The latest addition to the Hollywood Commission's online resource center is another step toward establishing consistent practices to combat harassment and abuse on set.
“This is the resource independent producers have been asking for. Like everyone in our industry, producers are committed to creating safe, effective and creative venues – places where everyone can do their best to tell the stories that entertain the world. Through our long-standing collaboration with the Hollywood Commission and IATSE, these tools help make this possible,” INDIE's Jeanette Volturno, Monica Levinson and Bart Rosenblatt said in a joint statement.
IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb added: “Efforts to ensure safe and healthy workplaces, free from abuse, sexual assault and harassment, depend on our continued vigilance. Respect on Set provides a powerful new tool to further advance this goal.”
Hollywood Commission in October 2017. Hill serves as chairman and president along with board members Cindy Holland, Alan Jenkins, Kathleen Kennedy, John Landgraf and Nina Shaw. The organization works in partnership with 26 companies, unions and guilds, academies and talent agencies to end harassment, discrimination, bullying and abuse in the entertainment industry.
About Tuesday's news, Hill said in a statement: “Independent and low-budget productions often lack the resources to give their workers the protections they deserve. This new set of tools makes it easier than ever to meet those obligations. Respect on set – from before to after – is the tool producers have been asking for: their checklist of what to do, when to do it and how to do it.”
