Bhawana Somaaya

Film Writers’ Association had been sending emails to member’s weeks in advance and to ensure that nobody missed the date the words became stronger as the date drew closer. ‘If the Progressive Group doesn’t continue in office, Film Writers’ Association will once again become powerless. If you don’t want that come and cast your vote for a strong and vigilant body.’

The writers turned up in large groups blocking the entire road and causing a traffic jam on Sunday, August 1 at Andheri. The venue Time & Again was packed with new and old members both inside and outside the restaurant. The new members patiently stood in long queues to obtain their membership cards. It was a buzzing atmosphere vibrating with like minded people. The senior writers mingled with the juniors as they puffed cigarettes with endless cups of tea discussing the future of writing in cinema.

It appeared as if everybody had devoted the day to FWA. Daily serial writers on television who never get a holiday made the most of it by hanging out with colleagues dragging their feet from breakfast to lunch to evening snacks. The procedure for the election had begun at 10 in the morning and the restaurant staff expected a quieter day post lunch but come evening and the crowd had not dispersed because nobody apparently wanted to go home that day.

The good news came the following morning. Progressive Writers’ Group had won the elections. It was not just an unprecedented victory but the beginning of the changing times to come. For the first time the writers had come together in full force and their spirit has to be saluted.

In support of their crusade I post their Progress Report for 2008-10 on my blog. I do this for the benefit of all my writer friends who are struggling with their first script and unaware of their rights.

Promise of 2008: Protecting the Rights of Writers: The Executive Committee’s most imperative task will be to draft a model contract which will include essential clauses on minimum payment by slabs, credit and copyright protection, and royalties. Competent legal help has been sought to draft an agreement sound in law. The aim is to initiate negotiations with the Federation and the Producers’ Guild with a view to getting it accepted by all parties so that it can be uniformly implemented. The Film writers’ Association is actually a writers’ union. We’d like it to begin functioning like one.
Report:

1. Model Contract for film writers: The Model Contract Consultative Group was formed in May 2008 with 26 leading writers and a Model Contract for film writers was drafted by them with the help of a leading IP lawyer. This was shown to and discussed with 600 writers at the Indian Screenwriters Conference in December 2008 and then presented to the Core Committee of FWICE in June 2009 and approved by them immediately. It went to the producers’ bodies with whom negotiations were to begin in January 2010. However, just about then the Copyright Amendment bill came up in parliament. The producers indicated that they were happy to agree to the Model Contract, provided we withdrew our claim for royalties in the Copyright Amendment Bill. However, FW (represented by Javed Akhtar, Prasoon Joshi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Saket Chaudhury and Anjum Rajabali) refused to back down and negotiations were suspended until the copyright issue was resolved. However, we have just made a determined representation to FWICE insisting that meetings on the Model Contract begin soon. We have been assured by them that that will happen. We shall keep you informed.

2. The Model Contract for TV writers: With FWA’s initiative, about 100 TV writers put their minds to drafting this, with the of another eminent IP lawyer. Apart from defining minimum fees for writers, this model contract addresses all the issues that have plagued TV writers. For instance, it includes a per-episode creator’s fee which will continue to be paid to the writer who created the characters and the original storyline, as long as the show is aired, minimum fees for rewrites, a minimum fee to be paid to a writer when a show is scrapped, payments of spillovers, credit periods linked to delivery and not to telecast, etc. We’re proposing royalties to writers for re-runs. Quite simply, the contract eradicates the notion that a writer is a daily worker. When a producer and a broadcaster make money eternally from the writer’s creation, why shouldn’t the writer? This contract is being forwarded to FWICE for their approval, before we initiate negotiations with producers’ bodies, of which even channels are members.

3. Copyright Amendment Bill: When FWA heard that the Copyright Act 1957 was being amended; we sought an immediate appointment with the HRD Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal and met him in November 2009 to represent the case for screenwriters. The meeting proved fruitful as the amendment bill included protection for writers by making their rights non-assignable thereby guaranteeing those royalties from further exploitation of their work. However, we want the wording of those clauses to be made sharper and totally unambiguous, clearly referring to screenwriters. And we want TV writers’ royalties to be protected when their work is exploited beyond geographical boundaries. To this effect we have made a representation to the parliamentary Standing Committee.

4. The IPRS vs. Broadcasting companies case: FWA has intervened via a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court in this case to ensure that royalties from the work of lyricists and music composers come to IPRS so that writers can continue to be entitled to receive them.

5. Legal help for writers: Most writers do not understand legal clauses and contractual technicalities. As a result, they end up signing away their rights and then regretting it. In times of a conflict with producers, they feel lost about how to deal with it. Plus there are a whole host of situations where they need legal guidance. FWA has just finalized a retainer arrangement with a very reputed and competent IP law firm, K. Law headed by Nikhil Krishnamurthy. For FWA members, they have agreed to offer subsidized services. An e-mail is being sent out to members to inform them of this service.

Promise of 2008: Events to promote the work of writers: The Association ought to be able to offer help to screenwriters (especially new ones) in their creative as well as professional endeavors. Towards that, we have some ideas – to organise an Annual Screenwriters’ Conference, Screenwriting Expos and Bazaars, a Quarterly Magazine on screenwriting, Pitching Workshops for new writers, organise interfaces with producers looking for scripts, boost media projection of screenwriters, and stock up a good library of books and DVDs. Such events can offer aspiring and established screenwriters a platform to meet and interact, and enhance their professional opportunities.
Report:

1. Screenwriting Workshop: More than 100 aspiring writers attended this workshop held at Whistling Woods by FWA in February 2009. The feedback from the participants was extremely encouraging and we are hopeful that they will go on to write wonderful scripts. Another one will be held this year.

2. TV Writing Workshop: Around 40 TV writers attended this and once again the response was really invigorating. Two more such workshops will be held this year.

3. Seminar on Adaptation: A seminar entitled ‘Cinema and Literature’ was organised by FWA in collaboration with FTII at Pune in April 2009. This was extremely well attended by screenwriters and litterateurs alike, and the proceedings were very insightful and invigorating. It also helped build a bridge between screenwriters and writers of fiction and non-fiction in many Indian languages.

4. The Indian Screenwriters Conference 2008: This was of course FWA’s big event attended by about 600 members. The two-day conference saw intensive and lively discussions on a variety of topics – creative and professional. Response from members was very positive and we have promised to hold one every two years. Await the next one in December 2010, where FWA will present plans for further initiatives.

5. Seminar on the Indian Script: Another seminar entitled, ‘The Uniqueness of the Indian Script’ will be held by FWA in collaboration with FTII on August 28-29 this year. Several well known screenwriters and film scholars will be speaking, and we expect the attendance and participation to be vigorous. (An e-mail will soon reach FWA members with details of the programme)

Promise of 2008: Modernising FWA: FWA is meant to serve members and encourage all screenwriting aspirants to join it. For this we need to upgrade our services technologically by improving the FWA website, offer a lively virtual interface and forum for members to interact, facilitate online membership, copyright registration, etc.
Report:

1. The Website: We must admit that this has taken longer than it should have. We understand the inconvenience it must have caused to you for being without a website for more than a year now, but certain technical hurdles and glitches beyond our control have delayed the process. However, everything has been put together for it and it should be up and running in the next week – by end-July latest. It will allow you to register your work online without having to physically send your scripts to the FWA office, it will offer useful information on writing which will grow as time goes on, and a host of other facilities. However, on examining the technological and legal implications involved, FWA has decided against accepting membership applications online for now.

2. Additional office space: It has been obvious for a long time now that FWA needs more space for several activities which we can’t undertake without it. Lady luck smiled and the adjacent office went up for sale two months ago. We have snapped it up at a competitive price and plans are already afoot to design and restructure the whole combined space. You can now look forward to things being more comfortable, with space for additional activities like legal consultation, simultaneous meetings, a better equipped library of choice books, screenplays plus DVDs, in-house gatherings for discussions, and larger meetings and other organizational work.

Progressive Writers Group-Manifesto-2010-12
Contracts and Copyright

1. The Model Contracts for film writers and for TV writers is yet to be signed by producers’ bodies. It is imperative that this process be completed, otherwise all these efforts will go in vain and screenwriters will continue to be left helpless and at the whims of producers. Hence we need to make sure there is no let up in our drive and efforts.

2. The Copyright Amendment Bill ought to be passed by parliament later this year. And yet there are concerns about it as the producers too are lobbying hard to defeat it. We have to be vigilant and do our best to intervene as and when we can to aid its approval.

Educational and developmental activities for writers

1. Workshops, Seminars, Symposiums, Conferences, et al will continue regularly, undoubtedly. We have several already planned for the next one year.

2. The additional office space will enable us to hold many more interactive smaller more compact activities and sessions for members. With this new space, we shall also now freely expand the library to include precious texts on screenwriting, prefaced screenplays, and of course DVDs of important as well as rare films.

3. Affiliation with international guilds: We have begun correspondence with important writers guilds from other countries to initiate a relationship with them, even a formal mutual affiliation, where possible. On the cards for now are Writers Guild of Britain, Federation of Screenwriters of Europe, and the Writers Guild of America. This will help us in our future struggles dealing with copyrights and royalties, as well as in cross-border disputes, now that foreign production houses have begun setting up shop in India in a big way, and vice versa.

4. Closer interaction with members: At several times we have asked for and encouraged feedback, critiques, suggestions and new ideas from members on how FWA can function better and also take up newer activities. At the Conference of 2008, we did have the last session devoted to just that. It is also now important that members also come forward to offer their voluntary participation in those new ideas. For the next two years, we intend to invite and facilitate that through the new website as well as on a face-to-face basis at the office as well as at different platforms that we shall create.

Let us hope all filmmakers are reading this and making note.

Bhawana Somaaya
blog.bhawanasomaaya.com