Advocacy

SetMD is a dedicated advocate for the film industry, championing data-driven reform and honest storytelling to foster positive change. A production company, Patsy Productions, LLC was founded with a comittment to telling the stories of those working in the film industry. Safe Sets - Dying to Work in the Film Industry , was funded largely by SetMD profits, and goes beyond exposing risks to reframe the conversation around worker well-being. It acknowledges that survival on set—avoiding injury or death—is the bare minimum; true progress requires enabling workers to thrive.

 

To this end, the film advocates for ongoing survey data collection that measures not just safety incidents, but quality-of-life indicators: mental health, financial stability, access to healthcare, work-life balance, and creative fulfillment. By capturing how many hours crew members sleep, whether they can afford housing near production, or if they feel empowered to speak up without retaliation, these surveys build a holistic picture of systemic strain.

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This data, the documentary argues, is critical to shift industry priorities—from treating crew as expendable labor to valuing them as sustainable talent. Only by quantifying the gap between surviving and thriving can unions negotiate better contracts, studios justify wellness investments, and regulators enforce meaningful standards.

Safe Sets thus transforms personal testimony into a blueprint: validate the struggle, collect the data, and demand a film industry where workers don’t just endure—they flourish.

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The film has won awards at film festivals, screened to industry groups in the UK and the US, and has now become part of the curriculum at numerous film schools throughout the country.