Following weeks of heated debate and clashes, France’s film and audiovisual guilds as well as labor unions have finally agreed a set of production guidelines for filming during the pandemic.
The 40-page rulebook calls for the hiring of additional people on set, including a caregiver, a counselor specialized in, and an assistant to clean all props; as well as private transportation for cast and key crew members. Further, gatherings on set will be limited to 50 people, while exterior shoots are banned unless they are in an area that can be made fully private and cleaned before and during filming. Catering is limited to individual meal trays.
In a previous version of the guidelines, intimate scenes were advised against unless actors wore masks — a restriction that was firmly opposed by producers and filmmakers, said Mandarin Productions’ Eric Altmayer, who is aiming to start shooting Francois Ozon and David Foenkinos’s next films on July 15 and Aug. 17, respectively.
Meanwhile, the temporary indemnity fund — for films and TV series where filming has to be paused or rescheduled due to the coronavirus crisis — was presented to producers on Monday. Effective as of June 1, the fund will only be accessible for upcoming shoots, and won’t cover delays or cancelations on shoots that were stopped in mid-March when the lockdown started.