May 13 Mon 2013 WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL "AMERICAN WINTER"
This devastating film was so unremittingly wrenching in its study of families trying to maintain their humanity under severe assault from the system - even the children felt guilt that their feeding took money away from their parents! - that when we were forced to leave by a previous conflict schedule we wondered if we could ever have stayed to suffer all the way through this extraordinary document of the spiritual ravages of latter day capitalism, post 2008 style ("disaster capitalism", as Naomi Klein has labeled it).
The devilish consequences of the replacement of workers with machines and with a need for education which is beyond the reach of most blue collar unemployed has been covered continuously by public television and the commercial media, including the increasingly investigative New York Times, but in the hands of Harry Gantz the damage has never been brought home more vividly.
The Republican political and think tank brigade should be forced to watch this film with their eyelids propped open like Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange, so that it has the same revisionary effect on their understanding of how economics affects the human spirit.
Quote from the description of American WInter at its site, http://www.americanwinterfilm.com:
"Doing the research for this documentary we found that in the U.S., more than 1 in 4 private sector workers earn less than $10 an hour, a yearly salary below the poverty line for a family of four. Yet in most U.S. cities, a full time worker with two kids must earn at least $21 an hour to meet their family’s basic needs. Also, for most Americans, wages have not gone up over the last 30 years. Since the mid 1970s, CEO pay has gone up 750%, while worker’s pay has gone up just 5%.
Studies show that it is cheaper to help families before they become homeless. And it is cheaper to help families before the kids are traumatized by living with food and housing insecurity, because those kids don’t do as well in school and they are more likely to wind up on drugs or in the prison system. Those costs to society will affect all of us for ten, twenty, thirty, thirty years to come. Yet even though it is cheaper to help families, to get them to a place where they are stable and productive, we seem to turn a blind eye and tell these families that they are on their own. families before they become homeless. And it is cheaper to help families before the kids are traumatized by living with food and housing insecurity, because those kids don’t do as well in school and they are more likely to wind up on drugs or in the prison system. Those costs to society will affect all of us for ten, twenty, thirty years to come. Yet even though it is cheaper to help families, to get them to a place where they are stable and productive, we seem to turn a blind eye and tell these families that they are on their own."
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WORKERS UNITE! FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
New York City Salutes Global Labor Solidarity
MAY 10TH TO MAY 17TH, 2013
May10th to 16th
Main Festival Theater
Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street @University Place NYC
Theater One.
Friday, May 17th
The Brecht Forum - West Street @Bank Street NYC
Monday, May 20th
1199/SEIU
43rd Street Auditorium, NYC
Members & Friends Event (scroll to bottom of schedule)
FRIDAY, MAY 10th OPENING NIGHT
Program 1 (5:00PM – 7:30PM)
Welcome Hour 5:00PM-6:00PM. Panel and Film to Follow.
Opening Night Welcome: A celebration of The Murphy Institute at CUNY as a gathering place for labor studies scholars, union leaders, and labor activists - and its efforts to support and build labor centers in China. Murphy Institute Director Greg Mantsios, China Labor Coordinator May Chen and Prof. Andrew Ross (NYU) will discuss labor issues in China to set a context for the film. 30 minutes
In Dreamworks China – In the suburbs of Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, young workers talk about their lives, existences built on a precarious balance between hope, struggles and wishes for the future. Around them activists and NGO’s strive to give sense and meaning to words like rights, dignity and equity. This is China in the age of Apple and Foxconn. 56 minutes.
Program 2 (8:00PM – 9:30PM)
Organize and Unite: A History of the Asian Pacific Labor Alliance -The Asian and Pacific American Labor Alliance has been fighting to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights for its members and all workers since 1992. This short film celebrates their mission to connect Asian Pacific Americans with the broader labor movement. 7 minutes.
Your Day Is My Night – Part Documentary, part narrative, completely enlightening look at what it means to be a Chinatown NY resident for decades and still sharing a bed by shifts, called “shift-bedding.” In this provocative, hybrid documentary, the audience joins a present-day household of immigrants living together in a shift-bed apartment in the heart of Chinatown. Seven characters (ages 58-78) play themselves through autobiographical monologues, verité conversations, and theatrical movement pieces. This film had it’s world premier in February at The Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight. 64 minutes.
Filmmaker Q&A
Program 3 (9:50PM – 10:55PM)
Nachtschicht (Night Shift) – Documentary filmmaker, Timo Grosspietsch, observes in such a way that the audience is involved immediately. This is a quiet film that leaves room for the people portrayed and depicts their workplace in carefully composed images. It documents the tough daily life of those whose jobs nobody really wants to do anymore. 65 minutes.
SATURDAY, MAY 11TH
PREVIEW PROGRAM (4:00PM - 4:25pm) – FREE!
Builders and the Games - Workers Stories (UK)(25 minutes)
Program 4 (4:30PM – 6:30PM)
Let It Be War - A young coal miner returns home from World War II to the unchanged, harsh reality of life in a company town. Unionization has the town divided and thoroughly at war with itself. Jim struggles to support his family, and in his darkest hour, he and the other miners summon the will to act. 18 minutes
Locked Out – Locked Out is a David vs. Goliath story of how 560 ILWU miners stood up and fought back non-violently over four months against Rio Tinto, a giant global conglomerate with a terrible anti-worker, anti-environmental record. The company tried to slash wages, benefits and worker protections in their new contract. Despite facing one of the largest mining companies in the world, the miners and their families brought the company to its knees by a massive pro-union campaign. 60 minutes.
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki, 2012. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
I Wanna Be A Pirate – A light-hearted music video about seriously taking back what the Fat Cats have stolen from the working-man. 4 minutes.
Divide - Deep in the mountains of West Virginia, the hard-fought victories of the labor movement have been worn away. That is, until retired miner and union organizer Sebert Pertee decides to confront divisions of race and class rekindled by the 2008 presidential campaign. 22 minutes
Program 5 (7:30PM – 9:15PM)
Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry - What makes people decide to become adult entertainers? How do they go about entering the business and how do they deal with career options, finances, and relationships once they exit the business? The documentary examines regulations that would address current issues, including workplace health and safety, such as mandatory STD testing and condom use. 101 minutes.
Program 6 (9:35PM – 11:00PM)
Inside Lara Roxx – In the spring of 2004, 21-year-old Lara Roxx left her hometown of Montreal and headed to L.A to try and make a ton of cash in the adult entertainment industry. Within two months of working in this industry she contracted the most virulent form of HIV while performing sex in front of the camera. This documentary is about the adult movie industry and its impact on a young life. Lara Roxx was hired legally and both men she had sex with tested negative for HIV—paperwork to this effect was presented to Roxx prior to shooting the scene. Miss Roxx’s story created a media sensation, but it’s when the media hype dies that Inside Lara Roxx begins – in a psychiatric ward in Montreal. Inside Lara Roxx follows this unlikely young woman through a tumultuous 5-year period as she struggles to build a new identity and find hope in the wake of her past. 77 minutes
SUNDAY, MAY 12TH
A Salute to Mothers: Heroes of Organizing Workers
Program 7 (3:30PM – 5:00PM)
Guest Speaker: Narbada Chhetri, Director of Organizing at Adhikar, part of of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Domestic Workers Alliance Presents: Meet Today's Help and The 5th Anniversary of National Domestic Workers Alliance - Two short films that explain the realities, struggles and victories of today's United States domestic workers as they organize throughout the country to fight for their labor rights. The real lives of "The Help" are far different than the ones portrayed by Hollywood. 8 minutes.
Mujeres Pa’lante (Women Moving Forward) - There are more than 500,000 domestic workers living in Spain today, largely migrant women from Latin America. Through three women living in Barcelona, we get an insight into the reality of being a migrant and a domestic worker in Spain today. We learn about why they choose to keep living outside of their native country. Facing daily discrimination and abuse, these women are actively trying to improve the rights and conditions for themselves and for others. 27 minutes.
Never Got a Dime - is the story of Lilly Ledbetter, a former manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama. On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations to reset 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck is issued. Ledbetter will always be remembered as a champion of women’s rights and equal pay. 14 minutes.
Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor - takes the audience on an intimate journey into the daily life of Judith, a street vendor from Guatemala who lives and works in New York City. We see the struggles she and her fellow vendors face daily on the city's streets and shows her community's attempts to change their conditions as immigrants and workers. Judith's hopes for the future and her aspirations as a mother, worker and community organizer is a compelling, universal story about access to the American Dream. 21 minutes.
Filmmaker Q&A
Director of Organizing Rafael Samanez, Executive Director, VAMOS Unidos and members of the Organizing Committee
Program 8 (7:00PM – 9:00PM)
The Machinists - In the teeming city neighborhoods of Bangladesh, young women work 15- hour days. In dangerous and dirty conditions, they make high fashion clothes for Europe and the USA. These are the victims of recent fires and building collapses that have killed hundreds of people who just wanted to do their job in safety, with dignity. Their children suffer, their parents suffer and yet they find the will to fight back and organize a union. 52 minutes.
Women Workers War – The story of two special women, who have acted in a special and virtuous way during this recent economic and moral crisis. ROSA is a factory worker who led 28 of her colleagues in a civil resistance occupying the factory (550 days). Margherita is the owner of another factory where used a different entrepreneurial model based on a civil relationship with employees. 54 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 9 (9:20PM – 10:55PM)
Money & Honey – This is an Asian epic documentary on migrant workers spanning thirteen years. Director Jasmine Lee first came into contact with Filipino caretakers in the Taipei nursing home, where her grandparents were under care. Living away from their loved ones, both the Filipino caretakers and the elderly residents suffer from homesickness. Stories of joy and sorrow take place between them. They comfort themselves by singing a self-mocking song, 'No money, no honey'. Being a wife, a mother and a migrant worker, the Filipino women are smart. They know how to survive. Yet, the road home seems to grow longer and longer. What price do they have to pay for love and livelihood? Can their dreams ever come true? 96 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
MONDAY, MAY 13TH
PREVIEW PROGRAM (4:00PM - 4:15pm) – FREE!
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
I Wanna Be A Pirate – A light-hearted music video about seriously taking back what the Fat Cats have stolen from the working-man. 4 minutes.
Program 10 (5:00PM – 7:00PM)
American Winter – Produced and directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Joe and Harry Gantz, American Winter is a documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The experiences of the families in American Winter are a vivid illustration of what has been happening to families across America, including working families losing their homes, people who remain jobless or underemployed, children going hungry, families getting their heat shut off in the dead of winter, and people with health issues overwhelmed by medical costs. Additionally, American Winter’s social action campaign will focus on channeling the frustrations of struggling Americans into a movement for positive change, while also supporting legislators to pass bills that allow all Americans to have an opportunity to live a comfortable life and a chance at the American Dream. 90minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A led by Harry Gantz (Co-Director)with special guests for this event: Dan Cantor - Director of the Working Families Party, Richard Wolff - economist and visiting professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University. He is the author of, "Democracy at Work, A Cure For Capitalism" Mary Brosnahan - Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless, NYC.
Program 11 (7:20PM – 9:00PM)
Making Labor History – sponsored by the New York Labor History Association Youth Advisory Board
Amanecer – Fed up with poverty wages and an employer controlled union, auto parts workers in a Puebla Mexico plant covertly organize a sit down strike. Will their bold plan go awry? Or will direct action lead to workplace justice. 10 minutes.
The Resurgent Activist - explores youth activism from the 1960s to the present Occupy movements when once again the youth of today are calling attention to social problems and injustice in American society. This smart short shows how youth activism has changed in the context of globalization, new technologies, and the effect of corporate mass media. 12 minutes.
The Hand That Feeds (Special Early Preview of Selected Scenes) – Workers at one of NYC’s fast food chains are abused and underpaid. With the help of dedicated organizers from The Laundry Workers Center, they learn how to organize and fight back against unfair conditions. This is a story of self-empowerment, personal growth and communal effort. This is a preview of a feature documentary in production. 15 minutes.
Cross Class Coalition Building at Columbia University - What does it take to organize across class lines? In the context of a nationwide revival of both labor struggles and student movements, students and workers at college campuses are trying to find out. What does solidarity mean at a university where students pay up to $60,000 a year, while campus workers can barely make ends meet? Alliances are the key. 7 minutes.
New York Taxi Workers Alliance: Front Line Videos & Induction Into the AFL-CIO – We see the battles right on the front lines of the struggle to organize taxi drivers in NYC. The NY Taxi Workers Alliance, the newest inductee into the historic AFL-CIO labor federation, has successfully taken thousands of independent contractors and molded them into a potent labor union force. 10 minutes.
Retail Action Project (RAP) - One of the newest and smartest worker centers, seeking to organize thousands of NYC retail workers, tells their story. This includes Pierre Rene telling why RAP needs to exist and a soon to be released short:Feel Safe At Work? Think Again! 9 minutes.
Stitched Together - Throughout the country, college students are organizing and protesting at their campus bookstores to force them to stop buying sweatshop made clothing. In the Dominican Republic, labor activists, students and workers create an independently owned garment factory out of the ashes of an old Nike sweatshop. They call it Alta Gracia. Alta Gracia proves that garment workers can be paid a living wage, treated with dignity and the products can still make a profit. For information: http://www.altagraciaapparel.com. 22 minutes.
Program 12 (9:20PM – 11:00PM)
Set for Life – Follows three Baby Boomers who struggle to recover from the impact of losing their jobs in the Great Recession. They grew up in an era of optimism and prosperity, but now find themselves trying to hang onto their homes, health insurance and hope. Over time, the three boomers successfully cope with the drastic effects of unemployment on their lives, but their futures are no longer secure, and they have lost their confidence in the American Dream. 68 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
TUESDAY, MAY 14TH
Program 13 (4:30PM – 6:30PM)
Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers from Both Sides of the Border - This documentary short follows the lives of Ivan, an undocumented worker from Mexico and Arnold, a transitory laborer from New Orleans as they work on the day-laborer circuit during a time of economic recession in the U.S. Their stories highlight the struggles and internal racial tensions in this workforce disengaged from formal labor structures. 28 minutes.
System Preferences–System Preferences is an animated documentary that tells the story of Bashir Rameyev, who is on a quest to achieve something extraordinary for his country in order to prove that he and his family are not 'the enemies of the people'. The result of his struggle is the invention of a computer used to launch Sputnik into space and, as a consequence, to spur the headlong development of Russian and American microelectronics. The second narrative woven into Rameyev's story is organized around a central argument that USSR's 1969 decision to curtail national computer research in favor of cloning American products had tragic consequences not only for Russian computer science, but for the global community of computer users today. 34 minutes.
Fluoridegate: An American Tragedy - Fluoride, which has been added to the drinking water of most Americans for decades, turns out to be quite dangerous, according to the scientists and health officials in this film. Several of them lost their jobs for being whistleblowers. This film follows their efforts to clear their own names as well as to warning us about this industrial waste poison masquerading as a beneficial public service. The tragedy is that government, industry and trade associations are protecting and promoting a policy known to cause harm to our health. Eye opening. 65 minutes
Program 14 (7:00PM – 9:00PM)
Sponsored by The NY Labor History Association
World’s Longest Unemployment Line - On March 6th, 2012, thousands of busy New Yorkers stopped for fourteen minutes on a very cold morning to line up on Broadway and remember the millions who are still unemployed due to the economic collapse created by the 1%ers. 5 minutes.
Never Got a Dime - Never Got a Dime is the story of Lilly Ledbetter, a former manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama. On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations to reset 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck is issued. Ledbetter will always be remembered as a champion of women’s rights and equal pay. 14 minutes.
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki, 2012. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
Farewell to Factory Towns? - What can residents of communities that have been devastated by deindustrialization do to improve their condition during a time of austerity, war and anti-labor attacks? The film focuses on the introduction of a massive museum of contemporary art in the same buildings that housed Sprague Electric Company in a typical New England mill town. Billed as an engine of economic development, the museum hasn't produced the jobs it promised and the city's downtown is semi-deserted. The film argues that national policy must change and that vibrant unions and social movements are needed to bring about a new 'New Deal' to deal with the social and economic crisis facing U.S. cities today. 61 minutes.
Program 15 (9:20PM – 11:00PM)
The Condition of the Working Class - Everything changes and yet everything stays the same. 1844: Friedrich Engels writes his book The Condition of the Working Class in England, a classic denunciation of the appalling living conditions for working people living at the heart of the industrial revolution in Manchester, England. In 2012: a group of working class people from Manchester and Salford have the task of devising a theatrical show from scratch based on their own experiences and Engels' book. They have 8 weeks before their first performances. The Condition of the Working Class follows the process from the first rehearsal to first night and situates their struggle to get the show on stage in the context of the daily struggles of working people facing economic crisis and austerity politics. 82 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15TH
Program 16 (4:15PM – 5:30PM)
School of Visual Arts Social Doc Block – The program in Social Documentary Film at the School of VISUAL ARTS provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of non-fiction filmmaking, as well as an immersion into the critical and analytical processes necessary to conceptualize and develop film projects with content of significant social relevance. This program represents the convergence of journalism, social activism and the art of filmmaking. These are films from the 2012-2013 school year.40 minutes.
Including: The Morning Smile 2:48,The Cigar Rollers 5:00, Hunts Point Market 2:06, Luchare Como Una Perra 5:52, Wonder Workshop Tanzania 5:31, The Ditch 4:47
Unequal Justice: The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court - Unequal Justice: The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court explores the growing pro-corporate bias in key Court decisions and their real-world impact on ordinary Americans. Steadily and relentlessly, the Court has been transformed into an institution that frequently serves the interests of the wealthiest one percent. Taking judicial activism to new levels, these justices have rendered a series of pivotal cases to fundamentally change the balance of power in American society, favoring business interests and limiting access to legal remedies for everyone else. These decisions threaten to undermine the core concept of fairness that is embodied in the motto carved into the Supreme Court building, turning Equal Justice Under Law into Unequal Justice Under Law. 20 minutes.
Program 17 (6:00PM – 8:00PM)
The Hands That Feed Us, Part 1, 2 & 3 and Behind The Kitchen Door – These three shorts focus on health and safety conditions and the impact of the lack of paid sick days on workers and public health in the whole food industry. Part II focuses on the low wages, the long hours of work, and the lack of breaks. Part III focuses on discrimination based on race, gender, age issues and immigration status that workers experience in the food system. BehindThe Kitchen Door introduces us to ROC, The Restaurant Opportunity Center, in NYC and it's dynamic leader, who has just released a book under the same title.
29 minutes.
Edible City - Edible City is a fun, fast-paced journey through the local Good Food Movement that's taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Edible City digs into the unique perspectives and transformative work of organizers and local working folks-- from edible education to grassroots activism to building local economies-- finding hopeful solutions to monumental problems. Inspirational, down-to-earth and a little bit quirky, Edible City captures the spirit of a movement that's making real change and doing something truly revolutionary: growing the model for a healthy, sustainable local food system 71 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 18 (8:30PM – 10:30PM)
Where Do You Stand? - A bittersweet story, beautifully told, about just how long and how hard workers are willing to fight for the kind of economic and social justice only a union can bring. Sadly, it Is also the story of how far US bases multi-nationals are willing to go in destroying workplaces and communities in their global “race to the bottom,” in wages and living standards. 60 minutes.
A Killer Bargain - A Killer Bargain refers to the availability of cheap consumer goods, imported by Western companies, whose prices don’t reflect the human and environmental costs of their production. Consumers remain unaware of the conditions under which the goods they buy are produced. This film makes those connections shockingly clear. 57 minutes.
THURSDAY, MAY 16TH
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES FIRST GLOBAL LABOR FILM FESTIVAL
Program 19 (4:00PM – 6:00PM)
Iron Slaves - In Pakistan, men tear apart huge decommissioned oil tankers with few tools, terrible working conditions and lots of danger. They are called the shipbreakers. 4 minutes.
In Dreamworks China – In Dreamworks China, in the suburbs of Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, young workers talk about their lives, existences built on a precarious balance between hope, struggles and wishes for the future. Around them activists and NGO’s strive to give sense and meaning to words like rights, dignity and equity. 56 minutes.
Salty Dog Blues - Salty Dog Blues looks at a group of men and women of color who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1938-1975. It examines their relationship to the National Maritime Union in the midst of a transition that left thousands of its members without health benefits. 52 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Festival Awards & Acknowledgements
Program 20 (7:00PM – 8:00 PM)
Front Line Films of the Transport Workers Union – A short film series by the master videographer for the TWU International, Mary Matthews. Mary captures the frontline battles for the rights of workers around the country.
TWU: FRONT LINES OF HURRICANE SANDY, PRECIOUS CARGO: SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS ORGANIZE, SUPPORT YOUR DEALERS(Gaming Division), TWU GET OUT THE VOTE, NASA FIREFIGHTERS PROTEST HUGE CUTS & LOSSES, THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE, I SUPPORT AMERICAN JOBS: DFW PROTEST, THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE, YOUNG WORKERS OF TWU
30 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 21 (8:30PM – 9:50PM)
Land, Rain and Fire - What began as a teacher’s strike in May of 2006 against privatization and for
better wages and more resources for students, erupted into a massive movement for profound social change in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Government repression brought even greater popular resistance, which ultimately brought the state government to a standstill. 30 minutes.
Frozen Happiness – Recounts the struggle of a mother and her children to gain the freedom of their husband and father. Falsely charged with the assassination of New York-based Indy-reporter Brad Will, APPO (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) supporter and community activist Juan Manuel Martinez endured sixteen months of unjust imprisonment. With the support and solidarity of participants in the 2006 popular uprising and members of APPO the struggle of the family turned into a broader campaign demanding the freedom of Juan Manuel and an end to impunity. Set against the first democratic change of government in eighty years the video bears witness to the power of solidarity and independent mobilization. 30 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 22 (10:10PM – 10:55PM)
Myth of the Welfare State - A family in a Slovak village faces an impossible situation when one of the children falls seriously ill. The small boys' condition requires permanent care, expensive medicine and continuous trips to the capital, a seven hour train-ride from the village. In spite of intensive letter writing to the social authorities there is no help to get and the family becomes dependent on loans from high interest credit companies. The object of the film is not just the unfortunate family but more so the decay of welfare in Eastern Europe after twenty years of crony capitalism and neo-liberal governments busily trying to live up to austerity requirements from the west while indifferent to the plight of its people. 44 minutes.
FRIDAY, MAY 17TH
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL @ THE BRECHT FORUM (BANK STREET AT THE WEST STREET)
Program 23 (3:45PM-6:00PM)
Occupy Sandy – When Occupy Wall Street was forcefully ejected from Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan, where did they go? What did they do to continue the protest and to show they were a valid social movement? This short film helps answer those questions. 8 minutes.
Borderline - Workers in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico organize to fight exploitation on the job. Despite making millions of dollars for their Finnish employers, they are paid roughly $8.30 per day. 10 minutes
Amanecer – Fed up with poverty wages and an employer controlled union, auto parts workers in a Puebla Mexico plant covertly organize a sit down strike. Will their bold plan go awry? Or will direct action lead to workplace justice. 10 minutes.
99 Voices – During the first two months of Occupy Wall Street, 99 occupants of Zuccotti Park were asked the same three questions. These are their answers. 15 minutes.
The Hand That Feeds (Special Early Preview of Selected Scenes) – Workers at one of NYC’s fast food chains are abused and underpaid. With the help of dedicated organizers from The Laundry Workers Center, they learn how to organize and fight back against unfair conditions. This is a story of self-empowerment, personal growth and communal effort. This is a preview of a feature documentary in production. 15 minutes.
Clara Lemlich – On November 22, 1909, New York City garment workers gathered in a mass meeting at Cooper Union to discuss pay cuts, unsafe working conditions and other grievances. After two hours of indecisive speeches by male union leaders, a young Jewish woman strode down the aisle and demanded the floor. Speaking in Yiddish, she passionately urged her coworkers to go out on strike. Clara Lemlich, a fledgling union organizer, thus launched the 'Uprising of the 20,000,' when, two days later, garment workers walked out of shops all over the city, effectively bringing production to a halt.Lemlich's story is movingly recounted through interviews with her daughter and grandchildren, dramatic readings from her diary, family photos and archival footage, strike songs in Yiddish, an interview with labor historian Alice Kessler-Harris, a visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and excerpts from silent films of the era. 51 minutes.
The Internationale - Draws on people's stories of an emotionally charged radical song (the long-time anthem of socialism and communism) to celebrate the relationship between music and social change, and to evaluate the uncertain fate of once thriving movements of the left. The lyrics are a rallying cry for all the oppressed and exploited people of the world to rise up and overthrow their masters. Using rare archival footage, the film traces the development and meanings of the song before and after the Russian Revolution, during the Great Depression in the U.S. and the Civil War in Spain, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square, and the end of the Cold War. Exploring relationships between music, history and social change, this film is a serious but often irreverent meditation on socialism, idealism, and the power of music in people's lives. 30 minutes
Program 24 (7:45PM-9:45PM)
Your Day Is My Night – Part Documentary, part narrative, completely enlightening look at what it means to be a Chinatown NY resident for decades and still sharing a bed by shifts, called “shift-bedding.” In this provocative, hybrid documentary, the audience joins a present-day household of immigrants living together in a shift-bed apartment in the heart of Chinatown. Seven characters (ages 58-78) play themselves through autobiographical monologues, verité conversations, and theatrical movement pieces. This film had it’s world premier in February at The Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight.. 64 minutes.
Builders & The Games - In 2005 the 2012 Olympiad was awarded to London amid a blaze of publicity. Two years later construction of the Olympic Park in East London was underway. This film’s mission was frustrated by bureaucracy, security and public relations hype. Aletha, the researcher/presenter,tries to find a way around these barriers. She talks to union representatives, explores the legacy of past developments and examines the Olympic Authority's promises about safety, jobs and training. 57 minutes.
Program 25 Late Night Special(10:15PM- Midnight)
Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry - Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry examines the social, psychological, and economic impacts of performing in adult films. What makes people decide to become adult entertainers, how do they go about entering the business, what are their experiences in the business, and how do they deal with career options, finances, and relationships once they exit the business? The documentary also examines proposed regulations that would address current industry issues, including workplace health and safety, such as mandatory STD testing and condom use, and job discrimination once performers decide to leave the industry and pursue conventional employment. 101 minutes.
SPECIAL EVENT
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL@1199/SEIU
Monday, MAY 20th, 2013 (5:30PM – 8:30PM)
Workers Unite Film Festival salutes 1199/SEIU at the 43rd street auditorium (8th-9th ave) for a special evening of films and discussions on worker/labor issues for 1199/SEIU members & friends.
1. THE 1199 STORY NARRATED BY HARRY BELAFONTE (12 MINUTES)
2. BREAD AND ROSES (12 MINUTES)
3. A DREAM COMES TRUE (5 MINUTES)
4. I AM SOMEBODY (30 MINUTES)
THE HISTORY OF 1199/SEIU:NARRATED BY HARRY BELAFONTE
Directed by 1199/SEIU.
This film, made with rarely seen archival footage, is narrated by the great Harry Belafonte. It tells the story of the early years of this powerful and progressive union, from an organizing drive for hospital based pharmacists, by Leon Davis, founder of 1199, to current day struggles to get all healthcare workers a fair deal from an industry that makes billions of dollars a year.
BREAD, AND ROSES TOO: Celebrating The Legacy of Moe Foner
Directors, George Stoney and Lora Hays, Highlander Pictures, 12 min
The inspiring story of Jewish labor leader Moe Foner and the arts and culture program he founded at 1199/SEIU, New Yorks Health and Human Service Union. His vision, echoing the plea of female mill workers in Lawrence MA in 1912, proclaimed bread, and roses too, as the staff of life. Joining him on the frontlines of this charge were Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis, who was employed as a postal worker when Moe first discovered him.
A DREAM COMES TRUE
Director: Jay Mallin and Maureen Higgins, 1199/SEIU Baltimore, MD., 5 minutes
It's 1968, just weeks after her husband was assassinated, Coretta Scott King urged Local 1199 to continue the work of Dr. King by organizing local hospital workers. Members of Local 1199/SEIU Baltimore remember what life was like before the union drive and the effect Mrs. King's presence had on their struggle.
I AM SOMEBODY
Director: Madeline Anderson, 30 minutes.
In 1969, 400 poorly paid black women -- hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina -- went on strike under the guidance of District 1199, the New York based union, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, only to find themselves confronting the National Guard and the state government. A powerful story about perseverance and community/labor union action.
Read MoreThe devilish consequences of the replacement of workers with machines and with a need for education which is beyond the reach of most blue collar unemployed has been covered continuously by public television and the commercial media, including the increasingly investigative New York Times, but in the hands of Harry Gantz the damage has never been brought home more vividly.
The Republican political and think tank brigade should be forced to watch this film with their eyelids propped open like Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange, so that it has the same revisionary effect on their understanding of how economics affects the human spirit.
Quote from the description of American WInter at its site, http://www.americanwinterfilm.com:
"Doing the research for this documentary we found that in the U.S., more than 1 in 4 private sector workers earn less than $10 an hour, a yearly salary below the poverty line for a family of four. Yet in most U.S. cities, a full time worker with two kids must earn at least $21 an hour to meet their family’s basic needs. Also, for most Americans, wages have not gone up over the last 30 years. Since the mid 1970s, CEO pay has gone up 750%, while worker’s pay has gone up just 5%.
Studies show that it is cheaper to help families before they become homeless. And it is cheaper to help families before the kids are traumatized by living with food and housing insecurity, because those kids don’t do as well in school and they are more likely to wind up on drugs or in the prison system. Those costs to society will affect all of us for ten, twenty, thirty, thirty years to come. Yet even though it is cheaper to help families, to get them to a place where they are stable and productive, we seem to turn a blind eye and tell these families that they are on their own. families before they become homeless. And it is cheaper to help families before the kids are traumatized by living with food and housing insecurity, because those kids don’t do as well in school and they are more likely to wind up on drugs or in the prison system. Those costs to society will affect all of us for ten, twenty, thirty years to come. Yet even though it is cheaper to help families, to get them to a place where they are stable and productive, we seem to turn a blind eye and tell these families that they are on their own."
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WORKERS UNITE! FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
New York City Salutes Global Labor Solidarity
MAY 10TH TO MAY 17TH, 2013
May10th to 16th
Main Festival Theater
Cinema Village
22 East 12th Street @University Place NYC
Theater One.
Friday, May 17th
The Brecht Forum - West Street @Bank Street NYC
Monday, May 20th
1199/SEIU
43rd Street Auditorium, NYC
Members & Friends Event (scroll to bottom of schedule)
FRIDAY, MAY 10th OPENING NIGHT
Program 1 (5:00PM – 7:30PM)
Welcome Hour 5:00PM-6:00PM. Panel and Film to Follow.
Opening Night Welcome: A celebration of The Murphy Institute at CUNY as a gathering place for labor studies scholars, union leaders, and labor activists - and its efforts to support and build labor centers in China. Murphy Institute Director Greg Mantsios, China Labor Coordinator May Chen and Prof. Andrew Ross (NYU) will discuss labor issues in China to set a context for the film. 30 minutes
In Dreamworks China – In the suburbs of Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, young workers talk about their lives, existences built on a precarious balance between hope, struggles and wishes for the future. Around them activists and NGO’s strive to give sense and meaning to words like rights, dignity and equity. This is China in the age of Apple and Foxconn. 56 minutes.
Program 2 (8:00PM – 9:30PM)
Organize and Unite: A History of the Asian Pacific Labor Alliance -The Asian and Pacific American Labor Alliance has been fighting to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights for its members and all workers since 1992. This short film celebrates their mission to connect Asian Pacific Americans with the broader labor movement. 7 minutes.
Your Day Is My Night – Part Documentary, part narrative, completely enlightening look at what it means to be a Chinatown NY resident for decades and still sharing a bed by shifts, called “shift-bedding.” In this provocative, hybrid documentary, the audience joins a present-day household of immigrants living together in a shift-bed apartment in the heart of Chinatown. Seven characters (ages 58-78) play themselves through autobiographical monologues, verité conversations, and theatrical movement pieces. This film had it’s world premier in February at The Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight. 64 minutes.
Filmmaker Q&A
Program 3 (9:50PM – 10:55PM)
Nachtschicht (Night Shift) – Documentary filmmaker, Timo Grosspietsch, observes in such a way that the audience is involved immediately. This is a quiet film that leaves room for the people portrayed and depicts their workplace in carefully composed images. It documents the tough daily life of those whose jobs nobody really wants to do anymore. 65 minutes.
SATURDAY, MAY 11TH
PREVIEW PROGRAM (4:00PM - 4:25pm) – FREE!
Builders and the Games - Workers Stories (UK)(25 minutes)
Program 4 (4:30PM – 6:30PM)
Let It Be War - A young coal miner returns home from World War II to the unchanged, harsh reality of life in a company town. Unionization has the town divided and thoroughly at war with itself. Jim struggles to support his family, and in his darkest hour, he and the other miners summon the will to act. 18 minutes
Locked Out – Locked Out is a David vs. Goliath story of how 560 ILWU miners stood up and fought back non-violently over four months against Rio Tinto, a giant global conglomerate with a terrible anti-worker, anti-environmental record. The company tried to slash wages, benefits and worker protections in their new contract. Despite facing one of the largest mining companies in the world, the miners and their families brought the company to its knees by a massive pro-union campaign. 60 minutes.
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki, 2012. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
I Wanna Be A Pirate – A light-hearted music video about seriously taking back what the Fat Cats have stolen from the working-man. 4 minutes.
Divide - Deep in the mountains of West Virginia, the hard-fought victories of the labor movement have been worn away. That is, until retired miner and union organizer Sebert Pertee decides to confront divisions of race and class rekindled by the 2008 presidential campaign. 22 minutes
Program 5 (7:30PM – 9:15PM)
Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry - What makes people decide to become adult entertainers? How do they go about entering the business and how do they deal with career options, finances, and relationships once they exit the business? The documentary examines regulations that would address current issues, including workplace health and safety, such as mandatory STD testing and condom use. 101 minutes.
Program 6 (9:35PM – 11:00PM)
Inside Lara Roxx – In the spring of 2004, 21-year-old Lara Roxx left her hometown of Montreal and headed to L.A to try and make a ton of cash in the adult entertainment industry. Within two months of working in this industry she contracted the most virulent form of HIV while performing sex in front of the camera. This documentary is about the adult movie industry and its impact on a young life. Lara Roxx was hired legally and both men she had sex with tested negative for HIV—paperwork to this effect was presented to Roxx prior to shooting the scene. Miss Roxx’s story created a media sensation, but it’s when the media hype dies that Inside Lara Roxx begins – in a psychiatric ward in Montreal. Inside Lara Roxx follows this unlikely young woman through a tumultuous 5-year period as she struggles to build a new identity and find hope in the wake of her past. 77 minutes
SUNDAY, MAY 12TH
A Salute to Mothers: Heroes of Organizing Workers
Program 7 (3:30PM – 5:00PM)
Guest Speaker: Narbada Chhetri, Director of Organizing at Adhikar, part of of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Domestic Workers Alliance Presents: Meet Today's Help and The 5th Anniversary of National Domestic Workers Alliance - Two short films that explain the realities, struggles and victories of today's United States domestic workers as they organize throughout the country to fight for their labor rights. The real lives of "The Help" are far different than the ones portrayed by Hollywood. 8 minutes.
Mujeres Pa’lante (Women Moving Forward) - There are more than 500,000 domestic workers living in Spain today, largely migrant women from Latin America. Through three women living in Barcelona, we get an insight into the reality of being a migrant and a domestic worker in Spain today. We learn about why they choose to keep living outside of their native country. Facing daily discrimination and abuse, these women are actively trying to improve the rights and conditions for themselves and for others. 27 minutes.
Never Got a Dime - is the story of Lilly Ledbetter, a former manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama. On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations to reset 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck is issued. Ledbetter will always be remembered as a champion of women’s rights and equal pay. 14 minutes.
Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor - takes the audience on an intimate journey into the daily life of Judith, a street vendor from Guatemala who lives and works in New York City. We see the struggles she and her fellow vendors face daily on the city's streets and shows her community's attempts to change their conditions as immigrants and workers. Judith's hopes for the future and her aspirations as a mother, worker and community organizer is a compelling, universal story about access to the American Dream. 21 minutes.
Filmmaker Q&A
Director of Organizing Rafael Samanez, Executive Director, VAMOS Unidos and members of the Organizing Committee
Program 8 (7:00PM – 9:00PM)
The Machinists - In the teeming city neighborhoods of Bangladesh, young women work 15- hour days. In dangerous and dirty conditions, they make high fashion clothes for Europe and the USA. These are the victims of recent fires and building collapses that have killed hundreds of people who just wanted to do their job in safety, with dignity. Their children suffer, their parents suffer and yet they find the will to fight back and organize a union. 52 minutes.
Women Workers War – The story of two special women, who have acted in a special and virtuous way during this recent economic and moral crisis. ROSA is a factory worker who led 28 of her colleagues in a civil resistance occupying the factory (550 days). Margherita is the owner of another factory where used a different entrepreneurial model based on a civil relationship with employees. 54 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 9 (9:20PM – 10:55PM)
Money & Honey – This is an Asian epic documentary on migrant workers spanning thirteen years. Director Jasmine Lee first came into contact with Filipino caretakers in the Taipei nursing home, where her grandparents were under care. Living away from their loved ones, both the Filipino caretakers and the elderly residents suffer from homesickness. Stories of joy and sorrow take place between them. They comfort themselves by singing a self-mocking song, 'No money, no honey'. Being a wife, a mother and a migrant worker, the Filipino women are smart. They know how to survive. Yet, the road home seems to grow longer and longer. What price do they have to pay for love and livelihood? Can their dreams ever come true? 96 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
MONDAY, MAY 13TH
PREVIEW PROGRAM (4:00PM - 4:15pm) – FREE!
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
I Wanna Be A Pirate – A light-hearted music video about seriously taking back what the Fat Cats have stolen from the working-man. 4 minutes.
Program 10 (5:00PM – 7:00PM)
American Winter – Produced and directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Joe and Harry Gantz, American Winter is a documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The experiences of the families in American Winter are a vivid illustration of what has been happening to families across America, including working families losing their homes, people who remain jobless or underemployed, children going hungry, families getting their heat shut off in the dead of winter, and people with health issues overwhelmed by medical costs. Additionally, American Winter’s social action campaign will focus on channeling the frustrations of struggling Americans into a movement for positive change, while also supporting legislators to pass bills that allow all Americans to have an opportunity to live a comfortable life and a chance at the American Dream. 90minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A led by Harry Gantz (Co-Director)with special guests for this event: Dan Cantor - Director of the Working Families Party, Richard Wolff - economist and visiting professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University. He is the author of, "Democracy at Work, A Cure For Capitalism" Mary Brosnahan - Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless, NYC.
Program 11 (7:20PM – 9:00PM)
Making Labor History – sponsored by the New York Labor History Association Youth Advisory Board
Amanecer – Fed up with poverty wages and an employer controlled union, auto parts workers in a Puebla Mexico plant covertly organize a sit down strike. Will their bold plan go awry? Or will direct action lead to workplace justice. 10 minutes.
The Resurgent Activist - explores youth activism from the 1960s to the present Occupy movements when once again the youth of today are calling attention to social problems and injustice in American society. This smart short shows how youth activism has changed in the context of globalization, new technologies, and the effect of corporate mass media. 12 minutes.
The Hand That Feeds (Special Early Preview of Selected Scenes) – Workers at one of NYC’s fast food chains are abused and underpaid. With the help of dedicated organizers from The Laundry Workers Center, they learn how to organize and fight back against unfair conditions. This is a story of self-empowerment, personal growth and communal effort. This is a preview of a feature documentary in production. 15 minutes.
Cross Class Coalition Building at Columbia University - What does it take to organize across class lines? In the context of a nationwide revival of both labor struggles and student movements, students and workers at college campuses are trying to find out. What does solidarity mean at a university where students pay up to $60,000 a year, while campus workers can barely make ends meet? Alliances are the key. 7 minutes.
New York Taxi Workers Alliance: Front Line Videos & Induction Into the AFL-CIO – We see the battles right on the front lines of the struggle to organize taxi drivers in NYC. The NY Taxi Workers Alliance, the newest inductee into the historic AFL-CIO labor federation, has successfully taken thousands of independent contractors and molded them into a potent labor union force. 10 minutes.
Retail Action Project (RAP) - One of the newest and smartest worker centers, seeking to organize thousands of NYC retail workers, tells their story. This includes Pierre Rene telling why RAP needs to exist and a soon to be released short:Feel Safe At Work? Think Again! 9 minutes.
Stitched Together - Throughout the country, college students are organizing and protesting at their campus bookstores to force them to stop buying sweatshop made clothing. In the Dominican Republic, labor activists, students and workers create an independently owned garment factory out of the ashes of an old Nike sweatshop. They call it Alta Gracia. Alta Gracia proves that garment workers can be paid a living wage, treated with dignity and the products can still make a profit. For information: http://www.altagraciaapparel.com. 22 minutes.
Program 12 (9:20PM – 11:00PM)
Set for Life – Follows three Baby Boomers who struggle to recover from the impact of losing their jobs in the Great Recession. They grew up in an era of optimism and prosperity, but now find themselves trying to hang onto their homes, health insurance and hope. Over time, the three boomers successfully cope with the drastic effects of unemployment on their lives, but their futures are no longer secure, and they have lost their confidence in the American Dream. 68 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
TUESDAY, MAY 14TH
Program 13 (4:30PM – 6:30PM)
Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers from Both Sides of the Border - This documentary short follows the lives of Ivan, an undocumented worker from Mexico and Arnold, a transitory laborer from New Orleans as they work on the day-laborer circuit during a time of economic recession in the U.S. Their stories highlight the struggles and internal racial tensions in this workforce disengaged from formal labor structures. 28 minutes.
System Preferences–System Preferences is an animated documentary that tells the story of Bashir Rameyev, who is on a quest to achieve something extraordinary for his country in order to prove that he and his family are not 'the enemies of the people'. The result of his struggle is the invention of a computer used to launch Sputnik into space and, as a consequence, to spur the headlong development of Russian and American microelectronics. The second narrative woven into Rameyev's story is organized around a central argument that USSR's 1969 decision to curtail national computer research in favor of cloning American products had tragic consequences not only for Russian computer science, but for the global community of computer users today. 34 minutes.
Fluoridegate: An American Tragedy - Fluoride, which has been added to the drinking water of most Americans for decades, turns out to be quite dangerous, according to the scientists and health officials in this film. Several of them lost their jobs for being whistleblowers. This film follows their efforts to clear their own names as well as to warning us about this industrial waste poison masquerading as a beneficial public service. The tragedy is that government, industry and trade associations are protecting and promoting a policy known to cause harm to our health. Eye opening. 65 minutes
Program 14 (7:00PM – 9:00PM)
Sponsored by The NY Labor History Association
World’s Longest Unemployment Line - On March 6th, 2012, thousands of busy New Yorkers stopped for fourteen minutes on a very cold morning to line up on Broadway and remember the millions who are still unemployed due to the economic collapse created by the 1%ers. 5 minutes.
Never Got a Dime - Never Got a Dime is the story of Lilly Ledbetter, a former manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama. On January 29, 2009, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations to reset 180 days after each discriminatory paycheck is issued. Ledbetter will always be remembered as a champion of women’s rights and equal pay. 14 minutes.
Tax The Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale - Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki, 2012. A short cartoon parable about how we arrived at this historical moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. 8 minutes
Farewell to Factory Towns? - What can residents of communities that have been devastated by deindustrialization do to improve their condition during a time of austerity, war and anti-labor attacks? The film focuses on the introduction of a massive museum of contemporary art in the same buildings that housed Sprague Electric Company in a typical New England mill town. Billed as an engine of economic development, the museum hasn't produced the jobs it promised and the city's downtown is semi-deserted. The film argues that national policy must change and that vibrant unions and social movements are needed to bring about a new 'New Deal' to deal with the social and economic crisis facing U.S. cities today. 61 minutes.
Program 15 (9:20PM – 11:00PM)
The Condition of the Working Class - Everything changes and yet everything stays the same. 1844: Friedrich Engels writes his book The Condition of the Working Class in England, a classic denunciation of the appalling living conditions for working people living at the heart of the industrial revolution in Manchester, England. In 2012: a group of working class people from Manchester and Salford have the task of devising a theatrical show from scratch based on their own experiences and Engels' book. They have 8 weeks before their first performances. The Condition of the Working Class follows the process from the first rehearsal to first night and situates their struggle to get the show on stage in the context of the daily struggles of working people facing economic crisis and austerity politics. 82 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15TH
Program 16 (4:15PM – 5:30PM)
School of Visual Arts Social Doc Block – The program in Social Documentary Film at the School of VISUAL ARTS provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of non-fiction filmmaking, as well as an immersion into the critical and analytical processes necessary to conceptualize and develop film projects with content of significant social relevance. This program represents the convergence of journalism, social activism and the art of filmmaking. These are films from the 2012-2013 school year.40 minutes.
Including: The Morning Smile 2:48,The Cigar Rollers 5:00, Hunts Point Market 2:06, Luchare Como Una Perra 5:52, Wonder Workshop Tanzania 5:31, The Ditch 4:47
Unequal Justice: The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court - Unequal Justice: The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court explores the growing pro-corporate bias in key Court decisions and their real-world impact on ordinary Americans. Steadily and relentlessly, the Court has been transformed into an institution that frequently serves the interests of the wealthiest one percent. Taking judicial activism to new levels, these justices have rendered a series of pivotal cases to fundamentally change the balance of power in American society, favoring business interests and limiting access to legal remedies for everyone else. These decisions threaten to undermine the core concept of fairness that is embodied in the motto carved into the Supreme Court building, turning Equal Justice Under Law into Unequal Justice Under Law. 20 minutes.
Program 17 (6:00PM – 8:00PM)
The Hands That Feed Us, Part 1, 2 & 3 and Behind The Kitchen Door – These three shorts focus on health and safety conditions and the impact of the lack of paid sick days on workers and public health in the whole food industry. Part II focuses on the low wages, the long hours of work, and the lack of breaks. Part III focuses on discrimination based on race, gender, age issues and immigration status that workers experience in the food system. BehindThe Kitchen Door introduces us to ROC, The Restaurant Opportunity Center, in NYC and it's dynamic leader, who has just released a book under the same title.
29 minutes.
Edible City - Edible City is a fun, fast-paced journey through the local Good Food Movement that's taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Edible City digs into the unique perspectives and transformative work of organizers and local working folks-- from edible education to grassroots activism to building local economies-- finding hopeful solutions to monumental problems. Inspirational, down-to-earth and a little bit quirky, Edible City captures the spirit of a movement that's making real change and doing something truly revolutionary: growing the model for a healthy, sustainable local food system 71 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 18 (8:30PM – 10:30PM)
Where Do You Stand? - A bittersweet story, beautifully told, about just how long and how hard workers are willing to fight for the kind of economic and social justice only a union can bring. Sadly, it Is also the story of how far US bases multi-nationals are willing to go in destroying workplaces and communities in their global “race to the bottom,” in wages and living standards. 60 minutes.
A Killer Bargain - A Killer Bargain refers to the availability of cheap consumer goods, imported by Western companies, whose prices don’t reflect the human and environmental costs of their production. Consumers remain unaware of the conditions under which the goods they buy are produced. This film makes those connections shockingly clear. 57 minutes.
THURSDAY, MAY 16TH
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES FIRST GLOBAL LABOR FILM FESTIVAL
Program 19 (4:00PM – 6:00PM)
Iron Slaves - In Pakistan, men tear apart huge decommissioned oil tankers with few tools, terrible working conditions and lots of danger. They are called the shipbreakers. 4 minutes.
In Dreamworks China – In Dreamworks China, in the suburbs of Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, young workers talk about their lives, existences built on a precarious balance between hope, struggles and wishes for the future. Around them activists and NGO’s strive to give sense and meaning to words like rights, dignity and equity. 56 minutes.
Salty Dog Blues - Salty Dog Blues looks at a group of men and women of color who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1938-1975. It examines their relationship to the National Maritime Union in the midst of a transition that left thousands of its members without health benefits. 52 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Festival Awards & Acknowledgements
Program 20 (7:00PM – 8:00 PM)
Front Line Films of the Transport Workers Union – A short film series by the master videographer for the TWU International, Mary Matthews. Mary captures the frontline battles for the rights of workers around the country.
TWU: FRONT LINES OF HURRICANE SANDY, PRECIOUS CARGO: SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS ORGANIZE, SUPPORT YOUR DEALERS(Gaming Division), TWU GET OUT THE VOTE, NASA FIREFIGHTERS PROTEST HUGE CUTS & LOSSES, THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE, I SUPPORT AMERICAN JOBS: DFW PROTEST, THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE, YOUNG WORKERS OF TWU
30 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 21 (8:30PM – 9:50PM)
Land, Rain and Fire - What began as a teacher’s strike in May of 2006 against privatization and for
better wages and more resources for students, erupted into a massive movement for profound social change in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Government repression brought even greater popular resistance, which ultimately brought the state government to a standstill. 30 minutes.
Frozen Happiness – Recounts the struggle of a mother and her children to gain the freedom of their husband and father. Falsely charged with the assassination of New York-based Indy-reporter Brad Will, APPO (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) supporter and community activist Juan Manuel Martinez endured sixteen months of unjust imprisonment. With the support and solidarity of participants in the 2006 popular uprising and members of APPO the struggle of the family turned into a broader campaign demanding the freedom of Juan Manuel and an end to impunity. Set against the first democratic change of government in eighty years the video bears witness to the power of solidarity and independent mobilization. 30 minutes.
Filmmaker Q & A
Program 22 (10:10PM – 10:55PM)
Myth of the Welfare State - A family in a Slovak village faces an impossible situation when one of the children falls seriously ill. The small boys' condition requires permanent care, expensive medicine and continuous trips to the capital, a seven hour train-ride from the village. In spite of intensive letter writing to the social authorities there is no help to get and the family becomes dependent on loans from high interest credit companies. The object of the film is not just the unfortunate family but more so the decay of welfare in Eastern Europe after twenty years of crony capitalism and neo-liberal governments busily trying to live up to austerity requirements from the west while indifferent to the plight of its people. 44 minutes.
FRIDAY, MAY 17TH
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL @ THE BRECHT FORUM (BANK STREET AT THE WEST STREET)
Program 23 (3:45PM-6:00PM)
Occupy Sandy – When Occupy Wall Street was forcefully ejected from Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan, where did they go? What did they do to continue the protest and to show they were a valid social movement? This short film helps answer those questions. 8 minutes.
Borderline - Workers in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico organize to fight exploitation on the job. Despite making millions of dollars for their Finnish employers, they are paid roughly $8.30 per day. 10 minutes
Amanecer – Fed up with poverty wages and an employer controlled union, auto parts workers in a Puebla Mexico plant covertly organize a sit down strike. Will their bold plan go awry? Or will direct action lead to workplace justice. 10 minutes.
99 Voices – During the first two months of Occupy Wall Street, 99 occupants of Zuccotti Park were asked the same three questions. These are their answers. 15 minutes.
The Hand That Feeds (Special Early Preview of Selected Scenes) – Workers at one of NYC’s fast food chains are abused and underpaid. With the help of dedicated organizers from The Laundry Workers Center, they learn how to organize and fight back against unfair conditions. This is a story of self-empowerment, personal growth and communal effort. This is a preview of a feature documentary in production. 15 minutes.
Clara Lemlich – On November 22, 1909, New York City garment workers gathered in a mass meeting at Cooper Union to discuss pay cuts, unsafe working conditions and other grievances. After two hours of indecisive speeches by male union leaders, a young Jewish woman strode down the aisle and demanded the floor. Speaking in Yiddish, she passionately urged her coworkers to go out on strike. Clara Lemlich, a fledgling union organizer, thus launched the 'Uprising of the 20,000,' when, two days later, garment workers walked out of shops all over the city, effectively bringing production to a halt.Lemlich's story is movingly recounted through interviews with her daughter and grandchildren, dramatic readings from her diary, family photos and archival footage, strike songs in Yiddish, an interview with labor historian Alice Kessler-Harris, a visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and excerpts from silent films of the era. 51 minutes.
The Internationale - Draws on people's stories of an emotionally charged radical song (the long-time anthem of socialism and communism) to celebrate the relationship between music and social change, and to evaluate the uncertain fate of once thriving movements of the left. The lyrics are a rallying cry for all the oppressed and exploited people of the world to rise up and overthrow their masters. Using rare archival footage, the film traces the development and meanings of the song before and after the Russian Revolution, during the Great Depression in the U.S. and the Civil War in Spain, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square, and the end of the Cold War. Exploring relationships between music, history and social change, this film is a serious but often irreverent meditation on socialism, idealism, and the power of music in people's lives. 30 minutes
Program 24 (7:45PM-9:45PM)
Your Day Is My Night – Part Documentary, part narrative, completely enlightening look at what it means to be a Chinatown NY resident for decades and still sharing a bed by shifts, called “shift-bedding.” In this provocative, hybrid documentary, the audience joins a present-day household of immigrants living together in a shift-bed apartment in the heart of Chinatown. Seven characters (ages 58-78) play themselves through autobiographical monologues, verité conversations, and theatrical movement pieces. This film had it’s world premier in February at The Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight.. 64 minutes.
Builders & The Games - In 2005 the 2012 Olympiad was awarded to London amid a blaze of publicity. Two years later construction of the Olympic Park in East London was underway. This film’s mission was frustrated by bureaucracy, security and public relations hype. Aletha, the researcher/presenter,tries to find a way around these barriers. She talks to union representatives, explores the legacy of past developments and examines the Olympic Authority's promises about safety, jobs and training. 57 minutes.
Program 25 Late Night Special(10:15PM- Midnight)
Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry - Risky Business: A Look Inside America's Adult Film Industry examines the social, psychological, and economic impacts of performing in adult films. What makes people decide to become adult entertainers, how do they go about entering the business, what are their experiences in the business, and how do they deal with career options, finances, and relationships once they exit the business? The documentary also examines proposed regulations that would address current industry issues, including workplace health and safety, such as mandatory STD testing and condom use, and job discrimination once performers decide to leave the industry and pursue conventional employment. 101 minutes.
SPECIAL EVENT
WORKERS UNITE FILM FESTIVAL@1199/SEIU
Monday, MAY 20th, 2013 (5:30PM – 8:30PM)
Workers Unite Film Festival salutes 1199/SEIU at the 43rd street auditorium (8th-9th ave) for a special evening of films and discussions on worker/labor issues for 1199/SEIU members & friends.
1. THE 1199 STORY NARRATED BY HARRY BELAFONTE (12 MINUTES)
2. BREAD AND ROSES (12 MINUTES)
3. A DREAM COMES TRUE (5 MINUTES)
4. I AM SOMEBODY (30 MINUTES)
THE HISTORY OF 1199/SEIU:NARRATED BY HARRY BELAFONTE
Directed by 1199/SEIU.
This film, made with rarely seen archival footage, is narrated by the great Harry Belafonte. It tells the story of the early years of this powerful and progressive union, from an organizing drive for hospital based pharmacists, by Leon Davis, founder of 1199, to current day struggles to get all healthcare workers a fair deal from an industry that makes billions of dollars a year.
BREAD, AND ROSES TOO: Celebrating The Legacy of Moe Foner
Directors, George Stoney and Lora Hays, Highlander Pictures, 12 min
The inspiring story of Jewish labor leader Moe Foner and the arts and culture program he founded at 1199/SEIU, New Yorks Health and Human Service Union. His vision, echoing the plea of female mill workers in Lawrence MA in 1912, proclaimed bread, and roses too, as the staff of life. Joining him on the frontlines of this charge were Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis, who was employed as a postal worker when Moe first discovered him.
A DREAM COMES TRUE
Director: Jay Mallin and Maureen Higgins, 1199/SEIU Baltimore, MD., 5 minutes
It's 1968, just weeks after her husband was assassinated, Coretta Scott King urged Local 1199 to continue the work of Dr. King by organizing local hospital workers. Members of Local 1199/SEIU Baltimore remember what life was like before the union drive and the effect Mrs. King's presence had on their struggle.
I AM SOMEBODY
Director: Madeline Anderson, 30 minutes.
In 1969, 400 poorly paid black women -- hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina -- went on strike under the guidance of District 1199, the New York based union, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, only to find themselves confronting the National Guard and the state government. A powerful story about perseverance and community/labor union action.
