The Toronto Film Festival has begun under the shadow of twin strikes by actors and writers that has brought Hollywood to a near-standstill.
The semi-autobiographical film follows young Mahito as he moves with his father to the countryside after his mother perishes in the haunting fire-bombing of Tokyo during World War II – depicted in a whirl of flames, sirens and chaos. The screening was the marquee event of day one of TIFF, the largest film festival in North America, which began under the shadow of twin strikes by actors and writers that has brought Hollywood to a near-standstill.
“It took some weeks to really figure out the specifics and the details of how you would navigate a strike-affected festival, but it turns out that we’re going to have lots of red carpet talent,” Bailey told AFP. Hollywood actors and writers are striking in a battle with studios and streamers over pay and other work conditions – meaning that union members generally cannot promote films produced by companies involved in the dispute.
Premiering on Friday will be “Dumb Money,” starring Seth Rogen and Paul Dano, about the amateur investors who turned GameStop into a Wall Street phenomenon in 2021.