MIGRANT NEWS OCT 2020

P a g e 1 2 w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I F A C E B O O K P A G E M i g r a n t N e w s N Z I Job Board : www.asia2nz.com
Prolific filmmaker
whose star shines brightly
By MEL
FERNANDEZ
NZ On Air’s 2018
Diversity report reveals
that Asian producers are
underrepresented in proportion
to their population
– just three per cent
of its funded projects featured
a pan-Asian producer,
five per cent featured
a pan Asian director,
and seven per cent
featured a pan-Asian
writer.
The good news is that
in the shadow of the big
budget international productions
companies and
Hobbit there is a small
but dynamic group of
Asian creators in New
Zealand – Karpal Singh,
Roseanne Liang, Shuchi
Kothari, Selina Joe and
Marc Laureano, to name
By ROWENA
SINGH
Income stream from this
sector vital to jumpstart economic
growth, employment
and progress, say insiders
There have been strident
voices calling for New
Zealand’s borders to be
opened up so that international
students can return
and drip feed a substantial
amount of money during
their stay here which will
help jumpstart our sluggish
economy.
“I see the future as
very positive
because there are
thousands of stories
that we need to tell
from Aotearoa and
from around the
world.” – Karpal
Singh
just a few – who are passionate
about making
content that resonates
with the migrant population
and also wows mainstream
audiences.
Migrant News reporter
Rowena Singh interviewed
a member of the
inner circle – prolific
filmmaker, Karpal Singh
whose star shines brightly
in the industry and is
an inspiration for neophytes
who might feel
some trepidation towards
venturing into the
Pakeha dominated celluloid
world.
There are pros and
cons of being an ethnic
filmmaker in New
Zealand says Singh. “I’ve
been privileged to work
on many national and
international productions
on various roles in the
last 3 years after studying.
“Some of the cons are
that it is still a challenging
field; not going in the
racism aspect at all, but
Karpal Singh on extreme
right. Photo supplied.
An inspiration for neophytes who might feel some
trepidation towards venturing into the Pakeha
dominated celluloid world
The loss incurred to the
economy and to universities
because of the border closure
has been quite substantial.
Questions are being
asked why we are not tapping
this income stream
when New Zealand may be
in a good position to manage
the return of the international
students safely.
In late April, there were
13,101 students from China
in the country, 12,226 from
India and 2788 from South
Korea. The US was the only
country with fewer students
with valid study visas in
New Zealand, 870, than out
of New Zealand, 1064.
The figures highlighted
the downturn of about $5
more around the culture.
When you look at the
percentage of the Asian
population of NZ and
compare it with how
many of them are in the
creative world, it is quite
a shocker.
“But I feel times are
changing and this is the
right time to ride that
wave. I believe there are
a lot of individuals choosing
this field as a career.”
Editor: Karpal Singh
can be contacted on 021
352185.
Why NZ should open borders
to international students
billion from the international
student industry.
Universities New Zealand
Chief Executive Chris
Whelan said in an article,
which appeared in
Insidehighered.com, that it
would cause New Zealand’s
eight universities a loss of
around $200 million in international
enrolment this year
FINDING HIS ROOTS
VIA FILMMAKING
By ROWENA
SINGH
AUCKLAND – Karpal
Singh is a Sikh from West
Bengal, India, who came to
NZ in 2001. He studied hospitality
at MIT (Manukau
Institute of Technology) for
two and a half years. He
then worked in the hospitality
industry for 6 years but
being a bit bored and alone,
he decided to move on to a
different industry.
He restarted his career in
the banking field. “I started
as a bank teller in 2006 and
continued in the banking
industry for 10 years,” says
Singh. “In 2016 my role was
made redundant. But I think
it was a blessing in disguise
because it gave me a chance
to reflect on what I really
wanted to do in life. So I
took that opportunity; I was
35 at that time, to follow my
passion.”
Singh joined South Seas
Film and TV School (now
Yoobee Colleges). He was
one of the few senior students
there and says he was
supported by his tutors and
school, otherwise he wouldn’t
have gone down that
path. He eventually graduated
with a double major in
Production Management
and Drama Directing.
Singh’s student short film
‘Best of Both Worlds’ was
part of the Cannes Film
Festival (on-demand platform)
was picked up by an
American based film distributor,
and later played on
the Amazon (In the US and
the UK). Currently the film
is available on YouTube.
The concept for ‘Best of
Both Worlds’ was drawn
from Singh’s own life journey
in New Zealand. “It was
an arduous journey for me
trying to blend in with Kiwi
and that the loss would double
next year if graduating
international students went
home and no newly recruited
students were allowed in
to replace them.
The loss applies also to the
international students who
miss out on their education
and to the multi-cultural
community that they contribute
to New Zealand.
International students
could pay for the 14-day
accommodation while they
are in managed isolation if
they are able to do so. In
society. At times you feel
that you have lost your bearings
in terms of who you
are. So the realization of
missing my own culture and
reconnecting with my roots
is where the story for my
first film came from,” says
Singh.
Currently Singh is part of
a TV drama series called
‘Mystic’, which is a co-production
between UK
between UK and NZ that’s
on TV and on TV On
Demand. The first 8
episodes of this show are
now available on TVNZ On
Demand.
“The second stream of my
work is my passion project.
It is my second short film
called ‘Impossible’, which
is supported by the NZ Film
Commission. It is another
cross-cultural film.
“We will be making a feature
film of the same story
for which we have the script
ready,” says Singh. My role
in that film is as the producer
and I’m working alongside
a well-known Kiwi producer,
Belindalee Hope.
Belindalee has worked on
many big Hollywood as
well as NZ productions,
including such films Peter
Jackson’s The Lord of the
Rings and Hobbit trilogies.
“The third stream of work
is my own production company
called Kapow NZ. I
make promotional videos
for small to medium companies,”
says Singh. “I have a
team that works with me –
camera, sound and editor –
and I act as director, producer
and writer.”
Singh says that as a creative
person, you have to
satisfy your soul, as that’s
the reason you are in that
industry, but you also have
to earn a decent living.
some cases this could be
considered under the hardship
grounds and paid for by
the New Zealand government.
As international students
bring colossal amounts of
revenue to the economy
through enrolment, food and
accommodation some commentators
feel that supporting
their quarantine costs
would be deemed an investment.