Latest / Beyond The Hook / Samurai to Union Organizer: Sano of IATSE 891 on Crews, Safety and Vertical Films

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Samurai to Union Organizer: Sano of IATSE 891 on Crews, Safety and Vertical Films · Beyond The Hook

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: It was the coolest and most badass job that I've ever had.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: It can be accurately defined as corporate espionage as well.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh our next guest knows that every film is built by the people behind the camera.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: After years of working in labor advocacy, as well as on productions like Shogun, he now helps champion the cruise that brings stories to life every day.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: From IATSE Local 891 in Vancouver, please join me in welcoming Sano.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: That was a really warm introduction.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: We're uh, you know, we're really happy to have you here today, man.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's awesome that you could make it over for this.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my first question for you would be for those meeting you for the first time, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you on your career path to this point?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I was getting a degree in engineering.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: And um there was at the time a lot of uh student movement work going on in Toronto.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I learned a bit more about uh how socioeconomic status can like really impact your life.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then after that, I got into union organizing, where I was recruited into the Hotel Workers' Union um as what they call a salt, like table salt, um, which is someone that goes into a non-union atmosphere specifically to unionize it.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh I was a union organizer for a very long time until a couple years ago when I was taking a break, and my best friend at the time was working for UBCP, the acting union, and sent me the posting that said something about fit Japanese males in the Lower Mainland, which I thought was a very strange posting.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I obviously went to see what it was about.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: It was an open casting, uh, which was amazing even to see an open casting for me as someone not from the industry.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: But then two weeks later I got an email saying that I was invited to the boot camp, uh, and it turned out to be shogun.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I got to learn 1600s Japanese weaponry and etiquette from incredible people who taught it all.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: And then got to be beside main cast for about six months until Ayatsi 891 came around and asked me why I was on set, and I explained that it was the coolest and most badass job that I've ever had being a samurai.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then they asked me to be the lead organizer for their organizing department, uh, which I thought would be really fun.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was about four and a half years ago, and I haven't looked back since.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, man.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's uh yeah, that's an amazing journey.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like every a little boy would agree with you that that's like the coolest job ever, right?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's very cool.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: I love the story about being the mole in the hotel as well.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, you know, you were living like an espionage life in that job, it sounds like.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it can be accurately defined as corporate espionage as well.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I like to call it union organizing.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: It requires a lot of social mapping of the workplace, where you just sort of figure out who is a really trusted person amongst the staff.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's usually not someone with a title uh in different industries.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: And film is uh very hierarchical uh in the way that it is uh functional um and important.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: In film, organizing is a bit different and uh it's almost a must that you have to talk to the HOD.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: But yes, the the hotel work was uh very interesting, it's uh very militant organizing style to do it that way.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I mean it's it was like uh corporate espionage, but for like a really good cause, right?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's a that's a great story.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: My next question for you is IATSE891 chose to support the very first Canadian Vertical Film Fest as a gold sponsor.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us what it was about this event or what it is about this event that makes you guys want to be involved?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Why it is that you see that this is important?
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's actually a really easy answer for me, and that is the Victoria Filmmaking Community.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: I've been organizing in Victoria now for maybe two and a half years, and I've really gotten to know a lot of the crew here.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I must say I'm I'm really proud to be here among the crew, even just speaking to them.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think they are so talented and can really produce the most magical stuff.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: And also that it is really a community that cares about each other.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: When people in the community put so much into so much effort and time and energy uh into these things, they're generally doing it for free, which is incredible and that deserves resources.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense, absolutely.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, we're so appreciative to have you as an advocate on our side, because I would agree with that.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: And there is something special about the independent film community here on Vancouver Island.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, then my next question for you would be that vo vertical storytelling is clearly creating opportunities for a new generation of filmmakers.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think it's important for organizations like IASE to support that growth?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: One of the first things that happens in lower budget productions is that safety goes out the window.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it has to be that way at all.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's one of the things that I think the unions can do in this uh new medium is make sure that safety is appreciated still on these sets.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I believe in the Victoria Film community to be able to take it to a higher level soon.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So many talented and skilled people here, and uh it is nice when productions come to the island and local people get the opportunities to be involved in those and showcase their talents and their skills.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so I got a couple more questions for you here.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see vertical storytelling creating new opportunities for crew members here in British Columbia?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, I do.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think one of the best parts about verticals, it makes narrative and storytelling through that medium accessible to a lot more communities.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think, for example, that the BC communities and society are wanting more indigenous storytelling.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think generally that people would agree with that.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure how much training or resources have been given to those remote communities like that.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: But I think this can be a way to do that.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um as a training ground, as um giving the ability to tell a narrative, as building up the uh filmmaking community all around the province.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, you and I were talking a little bit earlier today about how important advocacy is, right?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And inclusion and representation.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I think you're absolutely right.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Indigenous stories of the Pacific Northwest or just Canada in general haven't really had a chance to shine in uh the mainstream spotlight yet, right?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And there are a lot of really fascinating stories from those communities that deserve to be told and deserve to be known by the greater populace.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I could not agree with you more on that, man.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And not just to isolate that community, but to think of, for example, um, I would love to see stories about the Italian community that moved to Trail way back in the day.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think that would be an incredible version of a story to tell.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Gimli in Manitoba is the biggest Icelandic community outside of Iceland.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, also a lot of very interesting untold stories in that uh community as well.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of comes back to the conversation we were having earlier about um what a great Canadian series Kim's Convenience is, right?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's the that exact thing of telling uh those Canadian stories of immigrant families raising their children here, um, you know, living their lives here, and just the fact that those communities are finally getting a chance to be able to showcase their stories.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a beautiful step forward and such an important piece of inclusion for everyone.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I love that.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I guess getting, you know, speaking, kind of just looping back to what you were talking about earlier about IATSI as well.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I really liked on what you touched on about just, you know, making sure everybody gets home safe as well.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's something that, as we all know, this industry is extremely demanding on people.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh obviously we all want to see everyone get home safe every day, for sure.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right, my friend, I have two more questions for you today.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: For filmmakers out there that wish to, you know, who have the hope to turn their passions into a career, is there a role or maybe some kind of assistance that IATSE plays in helping them along that journey?
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: I actually think that Iatsy helps people along most of that journey.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, my job in particular is to talk to people who are not members yet.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I get to help them with resources or explain the processes of applications, which are pretty arduous sometimes, to get all the credentials that you need and the safety things and everything.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh a very privileged job that I have to help burgeoning film communities do that.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: After you're a full member, of course, there are many resources that you can get from IATC at NM1, uh including training resources, uh, your health benefits or RSPs and things like that as well.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Even upon retirement, there are retirement benefits as well.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Quite a long time during that journey, I think ANM1 can uh very much help.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that makes perfect sense.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, all of those things are really important for people's lives, especially if you're raising a family, right?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So those are all really great points in ways that IATSE can assist people in those in that journey of following their career path.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Finish the sentence.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: The future of our industry depends on how bold and confident versioning film communities like Victoria and Kelowna can be.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: When you uh empower people to be able to follow their passions, it's just gonna bring better stories to the screen for everybody to enjoy.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks so much for you know being here today, Santa.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're really happy to have you.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I love that you had time to sit down with us and and have a chat.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: It was great having you.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, buddy.