Last Thursday, a group of European writers organised a protest in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The gathering took place outside the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) European headquarters in Brussels.

The initiative was backed by the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE), an umbrella organisation representing associations, guilds and unions of audiovisual writers across the continent. Some of the FSE’s most prominent members include the UK’s Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), France’s Guilde française des scénaristes and Italy’s Writers Guild Italia. In total, the body brings together 31 screenwriters’ organisations from 25 different European countries, representing over 8,000 professional screenwriters.

WGA members went on strike on 2 May, after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed. In detail, the WGA is demanding better remuneration standards, particularly in relation to TV work-related compensation, and support with the unpredictable impact of new AI tech on the work of screenwriters.

According to Variety, “At least a dozen protestors seemed to be present outside the MPAA’s EMEA offices in Brussels holding placards printed with the slogan ‘I stand with the WGA’ and ‘FSE stands with American Screenwriters’.” Among them was BAFTA-winning screenwriter Gail Renard, treasurer for the WGGB. “As the MPAA is made up of some of the same companies as the AMPTP, it seemed the perfect opportunity to show our solidarity with our sister guild and their members in the USA. Writers’ guilds and unions across the world are flexing their collective muscle to face down the existential threat to our livelihoods that has taken our US colleagues out on strike. This is just the beginning,” she said in a statement published by the WGGB. Other confirmed participants included chair of the Writers Guild of Ireland Jennifer Davidson, chair of the Danish Writers Guild Nikolaj Scherfig and director Hugh Farley.

Speaking to Variety, FSE executive officer David Kavanagh defined the Brussels protest as just “the beginning of a campaign of support for the Writers Guild of America, which will continue globally over the coming weeks or months”. He is also hoping that the initiative will be supported outside of Europe, in particular by the member countries of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG) – these include the likes of Israel, India and South Africa.

Watch this space.