The board of the FSE has called on its member guilds to demonstrate their support of the American writers’ strike on the international day of solidarity, Wednesday 28 November. The member guilds have responded with an impressive show of solidarity all over Europe.
The FSE member guilds have been extremely creative and innovative in producing and up-loading videos and images on the Internet and the FSE board and president wishes to thank you/them all for the impressive show of solidarity which proves once again that the European Federation of Screenwriters in Europe is an important and well coordinated institution.
Demonstrations and events have taken place throughout Europe, including France, Germany, the UK, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Greece. Further demonstrations and events have taken place throughout the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico, leading to intensive and favorable media coverage.
To see the videos-clips from Ireland, UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Greece and Flanders, please check:
Dear Members of the International Writers' Community:
We at the Writers Guild of America extend our heartfelt thanks to members of the international community for your unprecedented and robust outpouring of support for our cause on International Solidarity Day on November 28. We were moved and inspired by the hundreds of scribes who marched in front of the Eiffel Tower in France, at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany, and on the streets of Canada, England, Australia, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Wales, and Mexico. Clearly, our fight to win fair compensation from global media corporations has struck a chord with writers everywhere.
The scope of the protests was truly impressive: In Berlin, over 100 German writers carried WGA picket signs at the Brandenburg Gate. Hundreds of writers marched in freezing temperatures in Montreal and Toronto. In Amsterdam, an auditorium full of writers cheered our cause. We have heard from the Portuguese Screenwriters Guild, the Writers Guild of Great Britain, the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, the Writers Guild of Canada, the Screenwriters Guild of Germany, and the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe. Members of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild marched for our cause dressed as leprechauns!
At home, WGA members with international backgrounds marched at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. Jean-Yves Pitoun, a French native and WGA West member, stressed that the fight in the U.S. has an impact abroad:
"Europeans are very carefully watching the writers, actors, and directors in the U.S. because Rupert Murdoch is everywhere."
We thank you for reinforcing that fair compensation for writers is a worldwide cause. Together our voices will be heard.
Subject: Thank You So Much for the International Day of Solidarity
Dear Friends of the IAWG:
I am on a short break from the negotiations in Los Angeles, and have a chance to send you this note.
Second, and more important, I want to express my profound gratitude to all of you for invoking and then so effectively implementing the International Day of Solidarity on November 28. Your support means so much to our members. It was an inspiration to see our strike signs held high all over the world. Your steadfastness and willingness to spread the gospel were above and beyond the call of duty. I am proud to count all of you among my friends.
