Anna Kendrick 'Heartbroken' to Miss World Premiere of Her Directorial Debut as She Supports Strike

The actress sat out the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her directorial debut "Woman of the Hour" out of solidarity with the strike

Anna Kendrick is expressing gratitude from afar.

At the world premiere of her directorial debut Woman of the Hour at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, a message from the Oscar nominee, 38, was read aloud to attendees beforehand.

Kendrick, who also stars in the film, skipped the festival out of solidarity with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

"[This] film festival has proven time and time again that it is an artist-driven festival, and it has been my absolute honor to have TIFF as part of my career for the last 14 years," Kendrick began in the statement, which was read aloud by one of the film's producers.

"I truly can't express how proud I am to have the world premiere of Woman of the Hour at TIFF. It is more than a dream come true. I am heartbroken to not be with you all in this moment."

Kendrick added that the film would be "nothing without the extraordinary" cast. "I so wish they could be there to be celebrated in the way they richly deserve. As proud as we are of this film, we are equally proud to stand with our union in demanding fair wages."

Related: Anna Kendrick Shares Support For SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘Actors are Extraordinary’

Kendrick closed the statement by sharing that the achievement was still the "proudest moment of my career"

"I'm grateful to every single person who gave their energy to making this film," she added. "And I'm so excited for an audience to see their hard work on the big screen."

The thriller tells the story of a real-life serial killer in the '70s, Rodney Alcala. Kendrick plays bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw, who appears on dating show called The Dating Game. It also stars Tony Hale, Daniel Zovatto and Nicolette Robinson, and it's written by Ian MacAllister McDonald.

At last year's TIFF, while promoting another film, Kendrick got stuck in an elevator and was rescued by firefighters, which she told PEOPLE at the time was "so absurd that it would happen on a film press tour that it just seemed so immediately comical."

Kendrick has been a vocal supporter of the ongoing actors' strike, following the union's initial unsuccessful contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) back in July.

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In August, the Pitch Perfect actress took to the picket line in Los Angeles to support her fellow actors, as she held up a sign and rocked some SAG-AFTRA merch alongside Sterling Jones. On Instagram, she wrote that "everyone deserves a fair wage."

“(I’m in an incredibly lucky position - this s--- ain’t about me.) Actors are extraordinary," she wrote. “There are so many talented, hard working people in this union, even if you might not know their names.”

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