Life With Fritha

Phew! Life without Megan is keeping me on my toes, that’s for sure!

Thirty Letters of Non-Objection (LONO’s) to international crew working here were processed in the last month… These immigration issues – as I mentioned last NZTECHO – can be really complex and challenging. When I call crew to ask their opinion about a particular case (confidentiality on both sides protected as a matter of course, by the way), I get the most wonderful feedback for the work the Guild does, coupled with some rather more worrying comments about the state of communication and trust in the wider industry. I am still listening and considering at this stage.

However, the welcome visit of a member-at-large to the last Auckland Branch Committee Meeting certainly gave support to my building notion that crew trying to adhere to the Blue Book are facing greater and greater challenges to their doing so. I hope you all stick together out there – no matter where you fall “below The Line” – and remember, you can always stand firm to what you believe to be the intention of this document, i.e. a fair and safe working situation for everyone involved in a production. Each time you think about sticking to what you know to be right, you can be sure a whole lot of the crew are feeling the same way…

Checked your Income Protection Policy lately? I really hope you read Phil Burchell’s comments on this matter in this issue. Everyone I’ve ever known to take out I.P. insurance has been a member of this industry. It’s a really frightening thought – for those with families and other responsibilities especially – that they might not have the protection they think they have. Phil and I had a long conversation about the issue and he has some great points to make.

I’ve been trying to get on top of updating your details so that we have your correct email and postal addresses, plus at least one current phone contact. It’s a long job and I am very happy when members contact me to pass on new details without prompting – they get a gold star (in my mind!) and two gold stars if they know their up-to-date postcode (Yes… This is a hint!) In the same vein of thought, the New Year will see me attempting to streamline the multifarious duties that fall to the Guild as embodied by the E.O. We will have a new computer and a new member database (currently being customised), and will be sending you out some correspondence to keep you abreast of changes.

Also on the agenda for the New Year is a meeting with our lawyer to discuss the in and outs of options regarding Mark of the Lion, ‘Fat & Thin’ and ‘Safari Productions’. We need to get hold of some more facts before we can decide on a course of action to present to the crew who have been left out of pocket. I am sorry I don’t have more news for you now, but the meeting is scheduled (and confirmed… None of this waiting till 24 hours prior for us!).

I was lucky enough to visit Wellington at the end of last month and catch up with AlBol and Carey Johnson (Wellington Branch Chair). AlBol and I met with Mladen Ivancic, the Acting CEO of the NZ Film Commission. (Note: The Guild will be submitting an application for NZFC funding again this year, and Jennifer Butcher gives a rundown of the history of this in another “must read” article in this issue.) After the NZFC meeting, AlBol and I met up with Carey - it was great to meet and have a rave with her and AlBol. I look forward to meeting more members throughout the country and building up a picture of the issues affecting you all.

On the lighter side, Megan and I attended the Show Me Shorts festival’s Opening and Awards Night at the Academy Cinema in Auckland. A really entertaining and compelling group of shorts was presented. I was extremely moved by the understated Betty Banned Sweets – a gentle journey that anyone who has ever loved a diorama needs to see! Noise Control, deserving recipient of the Best Film award, combined genuine local flavour with a warm and surprising take on the True Story genre. I’d love to see this on TV, where I know it would charm the nation with its wide appeal. Also totally Kiwi in quite different ways were Take 3, Serial Killer and Calici: A Rural Conspiracy. I enjoyed those and the other films on show so much there’s really not enough room here for me to wax lyrical about them! Suffice it to say that all the crew who gave their time to these projects should be extremely proud of themselves – and if you didn’t submit one this time don’t forget your “Phantom Invoices” for your next short film!

I’ve not been able to attend all the events I’ve been invited to as E.O. of the Guild. Much as I might have wanted to, and could see the value of building up knowledge and contacts, I have to remind myself regularly I can’t do it all! But I did get out of the office to attend a highlight for me: Jon Plowman at the SPADA conference. This producer – whose credits read like a list of the funniest BBC comedy of the last twenty years – had John Campbell and audience alike all awhirl with his wit and enthusiasm for the production of comedy and the place of comedy in our world. It was all I could do not to run away and become a comedy writer myself afterwards – I think the world is perhaps a lot safer that I managed to restrain myself! – but it’s a great reflection on Jon that I will never see comedy the same way again. I am grateful to the Guild for making my attendance possible, giving me the opportunity to meet more industry people.

The combined Wild Christmas Party for all the industry bodies at Galatos in Auckland was a great success and extremely good value. I hope you have all been enjoying similar Festive Season celebrations in your neighbourhoods. All the best with balancing work and life out there in the trenches. (I really value my family, and especially the time that this 30-hours-a-week job allows me to spend with my eight-year-old, Séamus.) Merry Christmas, and here’s to a New Year filled with projects for all, with work conditions that recognise the lives of crew are worth valuing – from the point of view of safety, and allowing you time outside the world of cameras to both sleep and make merry!

Fritha