The creative community has been one of the hardest hit economically from this COVID-19 crisis because most employees in the creative field get paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis. Without work, they get nothing – and at the moment, almost all television and film production have ceased globally. Meaning hundreds of thousands of cast, crew, hair and makeup artists, electricians, drivers, carpenters, and more are left jobless.
Films wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for these people, and Netflix knows it. That’s why the company is making an incredibly generous gesture to show its creative workers that it appreciates them being there through the good times by helping them through these bad times. Netflix has created a $100 million fund to help with hardship to the out-of-work production community as governments are still trying to figure out what economic support they’ll provide citizens, and how.
Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, wrote on the Netflix Company blog:
Most of the fund will go towards support for the hardest-hit workers on our own productions around the world. We’re in the process of working out exactly what this means, production by production. This is in addition to the two weeks’ pay we’ve already committed to the crew and cast on productions we were forced to suspend last week.
Not only is the streaming service helping workers on its own productions, but its also dedicating $15m from the fund to support the broader film industry such as third parties and non-profits that work for the company. The money will be used to provide emergency relief to crew and cast in the countries where it has a large production base. The pledge includes a donation of $1 million each to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Covid-19 Disaster Fund, the Actors Fund Emergency Assistance in the US, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and $1 million to be split between the Fondation des Artistes and AFC.
Sarandos concluded the blog by writing:
What’s happening is unprecedented. We are only as strong as the people we work with, and Netflix is fortunate to be able to help those hardest hit in our industry through this challenging time.
While many subscribers have nothing to do but Netflix and chill, its beautiful to know that the company is looking out for its people. And, its employees aren’t the only people its helping get through the coronavirus crisis. The company has also made it easier for subscribers to get through self-isolation with the fun Netflix Party app – a way to watch movies and shows with each other online.
