Inside Out has called off its annual International Finance Forum (IFF) for this year’s festival amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.

The 33rd edition of the Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ film festival kicked off Thursday (May 25) and runs in-person and virtually through June 4. Organizers were originally planning to put on the seventh edition the IFF during the fest, but decided to postpone until November in the wake of the WGA strike, which began earlier this month.

Andrew Murphy, co-head and artistic director of Inside Out, tells Playback Daily “it was heartbreaking, but the right call.”

“Having just returned to in-person events last year after two years online, we were prepping for our strongest lineup of projects to date set to pitch to key executives from Canada, the U.S., and U.K. both in person and virtually,” he says.

“I believe it was about six days into the strike when we took pause to do our due diligence researching the WGA guidelines, what the stance was of the WGC [Writers Guild of Canada], which companies were signatories of the WGA, asking if any writers attached to participating forum projects were in the union or not — that sort of detail.”

Once Inside Out realized “the strike would not be over anytime soon, it became clear postponing was the best way to serve the projects,” he adds.

“Even with the WGC Independent Production Agreement, any U.S. projects or executives participating would feel like a gray area for some. And so we stand with our queer storytellers in hopes both sides can come to an agreement.”

The festival still plans to hold an Industry Day on May 31 with free professional development opportunities, panels and learning sessions at the Ace Hotel “as these don’t interfere with rules around the strike,” says Murphy.

Panel titles include Queering Intimacy Coordination and Sustainable Production Practices. There will also be a sneak peek into the making of an upcoming documentary about singer Jackie Shane, produced by Banger Films and the National Film Board of Canada, and executive produced by Elliot Page of Page Boy Productions.

Inside Out, which is billed as Canada’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ film festival, announced its 2023 lineup of 107 films from 30 countries earlier this month. Among them are four Canadian projects making their world premiere — documentaries Supporting Our Selves by Lulu Wei, Leilani’s Fortune by Loveleen Kaur and A Queer’s Guide to Spiritual Living by Ari Conrad Birch and Michal Heuston, as well as the six-episode comedy Bloom Room.

There are also several titles that were part of the IFF in previous years, including the world premiere of U.S. narrative film Glitter & Doom (pictured), directed by Tom Gustafson, which will close the festival.

The IFF is described on the festival website as “the first and only 2SLGBTQ+ finance forum of its kind in the world.” It offers professional development and mentorship to  2SLGBTQ+-identified producers, writers and directors, as well as a platform to pitch their feature projects over two days to Canadian and international executives.

Delegates for this year’s IFF haven’t been revealed yet but there are plans to introduce “the opportunity for a couple of Canadian series projects to participate,” says Murphy.

The festival remains committed to delivering the Finance Forum “to keep the projects moving forward,” he notes.

“We have been talking to all of the project teams and will be keeping in touch throughout the summer in case there are any developments. Otherwise, we will be keeping the same slate for the postponed fall forum edition.”

Photo courtesy of Inside Out