with summer movie season at its midpoint hollywood typically begins to turn its gaze toward the fall when a trio of major film festivals acts as the unofficial kickoff to oscar season but now that sagaftra and the writers guild of america are both on strike could a protracted battle between the unions and the studios cause those fall launchpads to fizzlethough the writers strike which began may 2 didnt have much of an effect on the cannes film festival that month the actors strike that started friday may significantly reshape coming fests in venice telluride colorado and toronto thats because sagaftra is prohibiting members from promoting any film while the strike is on an acrosstheboard ban that includes interviews photo calls and redcarpet duties without those appearances festivals will be sapped of the star power that is invaluable to raising a films profilethe first event that will probably be affected is the venice film festival which begins its 80th edition on august 30 with the premiere of the sexy tennis comedy challengers starring zendaya venice has lately rivaled cannes for glamour and headlines so the loss of actors would be a big blow the festival will announce its full lineup on july 25 and buzz suggests it could include highly anticipated films like bradley coopers leonard bernstein biopic maestro sofia coppolas priscilla about the relationship between elvis presley and his wife priscilla the killer a david fincher thriller starring michael fassbender the telluride film festival which runs september 14should be less stricken by the absence of stars that intimate colorado gathering is a favourite of famous attendees because theyre not required to do photo ops or media blitzes but the toronto international film festival beginning september 7 is a heady 10day affair filled with red carpets portrait studios and press junkets that will all shrink if actors are forbidden to attend there is a workaround but its a slim one duncan crabtreeireland the sagaftra negotiator said that truly independent films able to secure interim agreements with the guild could allow their stars to do media duties still thats a proviso more likely to spare the indiefocused sundance film festival in january rather than fall festivals where the biggest titles tend to hail from major studios and if the sag strike continues it will be more than just festivals that feel the pincha months long strike would hit the awardsseason ecosystem with its toughest test since covid if stars cant attend ceremonies could the events be held at all at least when these things were on zoom the nominated stars showed up postpandemic prestige films need all the help they can get at the box office if they cant be sustained by awards chatter and mediahappy movie stars studios could opt to move some more vulnerable yearend titles to 2024 will a deal in this bitter battle be reached in time to save awards season even if both sides can compromise before the televised ceremonies begin one change is