SWA heads to London for International Writers' Guild meet

The Screen Writer's Association is heading to London, England to join other writers' guilds from across the world in a two-day workshop to work on issues like collective contracts, credit disputes, royalties and copyright infringement. The association will be represented by screenwriter Jyoti Kapoor, who is the vice-president of the assoication. 

The two-day event is held by the International Affiliation of Writers' Guilds (IAWG), a collective of all writers' guilds from around the world. The SWA has been a part of these meetings since 2013, when it was first invited to the event. 

Kapoor, the writer of films like Kaccha Limbu (2017) and Badhaai Ho (2018) said, "It’s a privilege to represent SWA at this very prestigious gathering, sharing the stage with the most powerful writers' guilds of the world. Across the globe, screenwriters have to deal with the same kind of issues - unfair wages, denial of royalties, vulnerability to copyright infringement, censorship and lack of respect, in general. It’s important to stand in solidarity with one another if we want to take our problems head-on."

"While the advent of big corporate studios, that accompanied the globalization and digitization of the entertainment industry, was a huge boost for India, things have not improved much for writers. The contracts that we sign even with these conglomerates continue to be unfair, and one-sided. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has proved that collective bargaining is the only way to address this gross imbalance. And, this where IAWG plays a pivotal role in bringing unions like them together, so that we can help and support one another," she added.

The association is set to celebrate its diamond jubiliee next year as it turns 60. In recognition of the achievement, the association plans to celebrate the coming year as the year of the screenwriter in India, as well as launching several initiatives to help writers in the country.