Salma Hayek and Mexican directors, Guillermo Del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, have set up a fund to help Mexican movie workers who have lost employment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With productions halted across the world, including in Mexico, which has had more than 130,000 coronavirus cases and over 15,000 deaths, employees who’d normally be working on set are facing hardship.
To help those in need, the actress and filmmakers have teamed up with The Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematograficas (The Mexican Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences) to launch the fund, which was announced on Thursday (June 11, 2020).
Speaking via video call, Gonzalez Inarritu told The Hollywood Reporter the project is “an act of solidarity with our colleagues in this industry, without asking anybody else besides ourselves.”
The fund has raised about $440,000 already, with the likes of Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna also contributing with more donations expected. Currently, beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of about $885.
The money will go first to technical workers on set, costume, as well as sound and visual employees, with those who are suffering health problems or who are their family’s sole earners having priority.
Mexico’s government is yet to announce a date when production of films can resume.
