Did you find a job? Did you get PR? These are the questions that plague new migrants in their attempts to secure permanent residency (PR) visas. It's highlighted in the opening scene of a new Auckland movie, Mr Singh Wants PR.
At the centre of the cautionary tale is Dildar Singh, who moved from India to Auckland two years ago. Dildar has a diploma in management but is struggling to find a job so he can qualify for residency.
The desperation that drives new migrants, particularly students, makes them prime targets for fraudulent immigration scams. If residency status is found to be obtained through immigration fraud, then a person can face deportation.
"It's quite sad to take advantage of a student, or anyone for that matter. That was the central point of the movie," says the film's writer, Fahad Hussein. "I'm sure this movie will have a lot of reach."
International students are big business for our economy, contributing more than $2 billion annually to New Zealand's GDP. The number of students from India has quadrupled in seven years, overtaking China as the greatest source of new students. In 2009-10, 5900 students from India were granted visas compared to 4900 from China.
Mr Hussein came here from Pakistan in 2005 when he was 17. As a student at AUT he wasn't a victim, but knows of people exploited for tens of thousands of dollars. He's used their stories throughout the movie's script.
The title role is played by Sunny Sehgal; it's his acting debut but events in the film reflect his own circumstances. Sehgal is also an international student and his parents mortgaged their family home to pay for his studies here.
This is Hussein and assistant director Jonathan Paul Paynter's first 90-minute feature film, complete with the customary Bollywood dance dream sequence. But the movie lacks the big budgets that normally accompany this cinematic style. With no outside funding or grants they used their own money and called in favours from family and friends. Most of the actors are amateurs, which Hussein feels "makes it more real. I think it's fun to get real people to act".
Filming was done in public places around Auckland and audiences will be able to spot people in the background of scenes who didn't know they were being filmed.
A good helping of Kiwi ingenuity was needed. "We made our own sets, our own rig and compensated for any equipment we didn't have," Mr Paynter explains.
Auckland businesses opened their doors to the crew and they had great support from the Sikh community. One of its religious leaders even plays a bit part. "We kept in mind we were making this for the Indian community in New Zealand, but there is something for all Kiwis," says Mr Hussein.
Work began in May 2010 and because almost all the cast had day jobs, shooting was confined to Fridays and Saturdays.
"There was a real energy around the film. It's everyone's baby, we all put in lots of time and effort."
Mr Hussein is entering the film in several festivals, including the Singapore Migration Film Festival and some Indian events. "It's good for people living in India to realise what new migrants are going through."
And the relentless slog hasn't curbed their creativity. The pair say are planning their next project, to be filmed in Pakistan, where Mr Hussein's father is a retired judge. "I couldn't have studied film there - my father wanted me to be a lawyer."
SEE THE MOVIE
Mr Singh Wants PR screens at the Hollywood Cinema, Avondale, Thursday, May 3.
Web: www.mrsinghwantspr.com