The Hollywood Commission led by Anita Hill has launched a new series of resources aimed at supporting workplace safety for independent film productions.
As part of the organization’s Respect on Set initiative, the online tools were developed in close collaboration with INDIE, an IATSE sexual harassment prevention committee for low-budget producers created last year and led by Jeanette Volturno, Monica Levinson and Bart Rosenblatt.
The resources are designed to be a turnkey toolkit for independent producers, including sample codes of conduct, customizable policy templates, pre-production and implementation audit checklists, communications tools, training resources, and practical tips for fulfilling IATSE Low Budget Agreement (LBA) responsibilities (which covers films with budgets under $15 million).
Under the current IATSE MLA, employers must establish multiple avenues for reporting harassment or abusive conduct, which does not include any complaints filed with the union itself. The latest addition to the Hollywood Commission’s online resource center is another step toward establishing consistent practices to combat on-set harassment and abuse.
“This is the resource independent producers have been asking for. Like everyone in our industry, producers are committed to creating safe, effective, and creative sets – places where everyone can do their best to tell stories that entertain the world. Through our multi-year collaboration with the Hollywood Commission and IATSE, these tools help make that possible,” said INDIE’s Jeanette Volturno, Monica Levinson and Bart Rosenblatt in a joint statement.
IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb added: “Efforts to provide safe and healthy workplaces, free from abuse, sexual assault and harassment, depend on our continued vigilance. The Respect on Set resource provides a powerful new tool to advance this goal.”
The Hollywood Commission in October 2017. Hill serves as chairman and chairman alongside 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.
Of Tuesday’s news, Hill said in a statement: “Independent and low-budget productions have often been under-resourced to provide their workers with the protections they deserve. This new toolkit makes it easier than ever to meet those obligations. Respect on set – from front to back – is the tool producers have been asking for: their checklist of what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.”
