The Film Festivals chain table of fairPACCT has developed three fair-pay practice tools, partly with the assistance of Bureau Berenschot. These include a Standard Basic Regulation for Secondary Employment Conditions for Film Festivals, the Job Classification Book for Reference Positions for Festivals, and a Salary Table and Guideline for Freelance Starting Rates for Film Festivals, derived from the salary scales of the Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) for Theatre and Dance. These tools are intended as a national guideline and assist film festivals in implementing appropriate employment conditions and fees.
Ensuring Fair Pay
Following a public consultation in the summer of 2024, the practice tools were finalized on December 12, 2024, formally adopted on January 24, 2025, and published on January 31. As of January 1, 2025, film festivals are expected to implement these within the deadlines set by subsidy decrees, or with a transition period of no more than one year.
From 2025, ensuring fair pay in the cultural and creative sector is the norm. Film festivals supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) or by the National Cultural Funds can fulfill the fair pay obligation by adhering to a Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) or, if one does not exist, to a (related) fee guideline, such as the one developed by the chain table.
The fair-pay practice tools for film festivals at a glance:
1. Standard Basic Regulation for Secondary Employment Conditions for Film Festivals.
This regulation establishes the minimum standard for secondary employment conditions for those working at film festivals. Film festivals must comply with these to the extent they are legally required and as specified in the regulation under ‘apply within sector’.
2. Job Classification Book for Reference Positions for Film Festivals.
This Job Classification Book provides an official job structure for film festivals with reference positions and corresponding valuations, developed in collaboration with Bureau Berenschot.
3. Salary Scales and Guideline for Freelance Starting Rates for Film Festivals.
The matrix of salary scales is based on the salary scales of the Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) for Theatre and Dance as of January 1, 2025. It also includes minimum rates for freelancers, derived from these salary scales.
4. Appendix: Indicative List of Synonyms for Reference Positions for Film Festivals.
This list includes alternative job titles used at film festivals for the reference positions included in the Job Classification Manual for Reference Positions for Film Festivals. The list is not exhaustive and serves only as a tool.
5. Appendix: Bureau Berenschot Classification Report.
Linking the reference positions mentioned in the Job Classification Manual for Reference Positions for Film Festivals to a specific salary level, based on job content and job weight.
Outlook for 2025: Communication, Implementation, and Further Development
The Film Festivals chain table will remain active in 2025, focusing on the implementation, communication, and safeguarding of the practice tools. Additionally, the chain table is working on supplementary instruments, such as a ‘Guideline for (Socially) Safe and Healthy Working’ and a ‘fee guideline for management’.
Film Festivals Chain Table
Since January 2024, the Film Festivals chain table has been working within the fairPACCT program of Platform ACCT to develop practice tools for the further elaboration of the Fair Practice Code, led by independent chair Doreen Boonekamp. The chain table was able to utilize preliminary studies conducted at the initiative of several larger film festivals, with the aim of achieving appropriate employment conditions and compensation and to strengthen and sustain the labor market for those working at film festivals.
Participants in the Film Festivals chain table include representatives of employers, employees, freelancers, and advocacy groups involved with: Cinekid, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands Film Festival, Kaboom Animation Festival, International Film Festival Gorinchem, Movies that Matter, Northern Film Festival, and the Kunstenbond.
