Veteran American screenwriter Chris Keyser, who was the co-chair of the Writers Guild of America's (WGA) negotiating committee during the historic 2023 WGA strike, wants Indian writers to keep one thing in mind as they fight for their rights: Trust the community.
Chris—who is also the former president of WGA—was the chief guest at the Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC), which began its 7th edition on Friday.
Hosted by the Screenwriters Association of India (SWA), ISC kicked off with a special session where the Hollywood legend was in conversation with acclaimed screenwriter Anjum Rajabali on the rights of the writers and the critical importance of collective bargaining.
"I understand that I’m coming from a different industry, we have different rights, we have many different issues although many of them overlap, and I don’t presume to understand but... I'm saying that the process of actually framing your power is long and arduous. It begins with trusting each other and believing in yourself," he said during the session.
The screenwriter, whose credits include Netflix mystery drama The Society and the Golden Globe-winning drama Party of Five, said the learning from the 148-day-long strike was to "never stop talking, never stop expressing how you feel."
"We all learnt from each other and were like a family. A strike is not about sitting at home and complaining, it’s about being on the streets fighting for what’s right," Chris added.
Expanding on Chris’s insights, Anjum Rajabali, SWA Executive Committee member, explained the critical difference in how writer compensation is structured in Hollywood versus India.
"We call it royalties here—when a writer’s work is shown outside the cinema hall. A law has been made for it, and a new copyright society has been established. But in Hollywood, these negotiations happen within the union itself. They call it residuals—whenever a writer’s work is shown on television, streaming platforms, or anywhere outside the original release, they receive a share from that. The union ensured that even writers of successful shows in the past agreed to forego some immediate gains so that the tradition of residuals would continue for future generations. Initially, they endured losses, but that’s how a system was built," Anjum added.
The three-day conference will bring together some of the brightest and most influential minds in the Indian film industry to engage with and inspire the audiences.
At the ISC, which concludes on Sunday, renowned screenwriters and creators including Kiran Rao, Shoojit Sarkar, Nikkhil Advani, Niren Bhatt, Dibakar Banerjee, Kanika Dhillon, Biswapati Sarkar, Abbas Tyrewala, and Anand Tiwari will be sharing their experiences, techniques and the secrets behind their most successful works.