SAG-AFTRA released on Thursday its registry of intimacy coordinators who have completed the actors guild’s required training program and work requirements for accreditation as it continues to build its system for stronger supervision of nude and intimate scenes in film and television.
The registry consists of 40 accredited intimacy coordinators from the United States, UK, Canada and Australia who have met the Recommended Standards for Qualifications, Training and Vetting of Intimacy Coordinators established by SAG-AFTRA in January 2020. The guild also released a pre-registry of five additional coordinators who have met the standards but are still working toward the required 60 days of work experience for full accreditation.
SAG-AFTRA’s development of an intimacy coordinator system began in 2018 under former president Gabrielle Carteris in response to the #MeToo movement and has continued under current president Fran Drescher. The system aims to make intimacy coordinators, who oversee the filming of scenes involving nudity or sex and ensure the consent and comfort of performers throughout the process, an industry standard in all productions in the entertainment industry.
SAG-AFTRA says the registry will be continually updated as more coordinators complete the accreditation process.
“Long gone is the time when married characters are shot sleeping in twin beds, so the need for specially trained intimacy coordinators should be part and parcel of every production that involves nudity, simulated sex or hyper-exposed scenes,” Drescher wrote in a statement.
“With the advent of intimacy coordinators to any production, we continue to move the needle forward to creating a more honorable industry that is respectful to the feelings of all those participants who make it great,” Drescher continued.
“SAG-AFTRA has worked hard in cooperation with the intimacy coordinator community to establish standards that can ensure that producers have access to qualified intimacy coordinators to work with our members on SAG-AFTRA productions,” added SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Intimacy coordinators are a crucial protection for performers working in intimate scenes. This essential resource will further normalize and promote the use of intimacy coordinators, helping to change the culture in Hollywood and beyond.”