Greetings From Singapore

Hi,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dustin Lau and I’m based in Singapore.

Firstly, I would like to commend you for the stellar job the Techos’ Guild is doing. It is a great resource for information, and I’ve learned a lot about the NZ Film Industry from the website alone. My friends and I have actually been talking to government agencies at an unofficial level to try to get something like this going in Singapore. The film and video industry in Singapore is very far off the civilised mark, as far as labour protection, maintenance of work standards, insurance, legal advice and health benefits are concerned.

To give you an example, a classmate of mine had his foot and pelvis crushed while on a shoot in India. He’s now a double amputee, and while his personal/travel insurance covered his initial treatment, his long-term treatment has to be covered out of his own pocket and from public fundraisers. The film industry is a moderately risky business and people in the trade shouldn’t have to fall through the cracks in this manner. It’s particularly heartbreaking because he was one of the best young directors in Singapore - and it could have happened to any one of my friends.

Unions in Singapore are a bit of a tricky business, due to the issue of political control - there have been no new unions in Singapore in 30 years. In the meantime, film and production workers fall through the cracks…

Best Regards,

Dustin Lau,

Director / Editor