FILMS & DIRECTORS 2014 / Screenplays 2014
Workers Unite! Film Festival 2014
10 Years On: Afghanistan & Pakistan (35 minutes)
Directed by: Kathleen Foster
Documentary Short (2011)
This tightly focused documentary shows how after a decade of war, US attacks have spread the conflict across the border into Pakistan. This policy has contributed to many civilian deaths and deteriorating economic conditions. Pakistan is now a country increasingly dominated by corruption and violence, leaving workers and peasants to fight back with militant strikes and protests throughout the country. Afghans take to the streets to protest U.S occupation and the repression of women. On both sides of the border, their movements echo the same demands for economic and social justice heard from OWS here at home.
Ann Kore Moun (People, Stand Up!) (Haiti) (36 Minutes)
Directed by: Andre Vanasse
Documentary Short (2013)
What are unions for? Haitian union leaders explain the role of unions and why civil society is necessary for a country to develop itself. The documentary shows unions in action, in different sectors of society like the peasantry, schools, hospitals, transportation, municipal services, garment factories in Haiti's free zones. Social protection, public services and the necessity of the rule of law are also discussed. Best short documentary in the 'Regards d'ici' section at Vues d'Afrique, the most important French language film festival for African and Creole films outside of Africa http://www.vuesdafrique.com
Bargaining Table and Souls (4 minutes)
Directed/Written by Pamela Booker
Documentary Short (2014)
This film offers humanizing portraits of Goddard College faculty whose lives have been fraught by a climate of uncertainty in the pursuit of job fairness and dignity, over the past year of Collective Bargaining negotiations.
Bonita: Ugly Bananas (23 Minutes)
Directed by: Jan Nimmo
Documentary Short (2007)
When Scottish artist, Jan Nimmo, travels to Ecuador, the world's largest exporter of bananas, to gather workers' testimonies, she observes the formation of the first trade unions in the banana sector for 30 years. The Los Alamos banana workers decide to go on strike for the most basic of rights. Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador’s richest man owns the plantation’s owner, Bonita Brands, and Noboa doesn't like unions. Bonita is the world's fourth largest banana company yet the workers earn a pittance, are exposed to a cocktail of toxic agrochemicals and their living conditions are appalling. Bonita is a powerful eyewitness account of what happens to workers who dare to stand up against a powerful oligarch.
Brothers on the Line (80 Minutes)
Directed by: Sasha Reuther
Documentary Feature (2012)
A stirring portrait of the lives and legacy of the Reuther Brothers -Walter, Roy and Victor, pioneering labor leaders under the banner of the United Auto Workers Union. Directed by Victor’s grandson, Sasha Reuther and narrated by Martin Sheen, the film follows the brothers as they rise from militant shop-floor organizers to visionary statesmen in collective bargaining, civil rights and international labor solidarity. Brothers on the Line weaves the tale of one family’s quest to compel American democracy to live up to its promises of equality for all.
Car Wash Workers in NYC Fight to Clean up Dirty Business (5 Minutes)
Directed by: Charles Fostrom and Janna Pea of the RWDSU and Chio Valerio of New York Communities for Change
Documentary Short (2014)
The WASH NY Campaign. the story of the recently successful campaign by RWDSU to bring dignity and fairness to exploited "Carwasheros" around NYC. Special recognition to Charles Fostrom and Janna Pea of the RWDSU and Chio Valerio of New York Communities for Change.
Cesar's Last Fast (100 Minutes)
Directed by: Richard Ray Perez, Lorena Parlee
Documentary Feature (2014)
In the summer of 1988 Cesar Chavez, then 61 years old, embarked on a water ¬only fast – a personal act of penance for not having done enough to stop growers from spraying toxic pesticides on farm workers. For more than a month no one, including Cesar, knew when he would eat again. Structured around dramatic never-before-seen footage, this film focuses on the story of how Chavez organized America’s poorest, least educated workers, built a movement that successfully challenged our nation’s powerful agribusiness, and launched the modern day Latino civil rights movement in the U.S. Motivated by Catholic social teaching, Chavez risked his life in pursuit economic justice for America’s most vulnerable workforce.
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class (62 Minutes)
Directed by: Loretta Alper
Documentary Feature (2005)
Based on a book by UMass Boston Linguistics Professor, Pepi Leistyna, Class Dismissed brilliantly navigates the steady stream of misleading representations of America’s working class, from the dawn of TV’s Golden Age, to our current crop of reality shows, sitcoms, police dramas, fake courtroom shows and daytime talk shows. Featuring a mix of classic TV clips, key media analysts, cultural historians and noted professors, including: Stanley Aronowitz (CUNY), Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickeled and Dimed), Herman Gray (UC/Santa Cruz), Robin Kelley (Columbia University), Michael Zweig (SUNY/Stony Brook)
El Camino (9 Minutes)
Directed by: Raquel Tresvant
Narrative Short (2013)
‘El Camino' follows the path of the anonymous migrant in search of the New World. The journey leads to exploitation and raises the questions of culpability and complicity of both society and of the immigrant who crosses the political line in the sand. Economic pressures from both sides of the border are catalysts for migration. Demands for cheap labor generate 'illegal' immigration, which has become the polarizing, hot button issue du jour. This parable is a metaphor for the reality faced by migrants arriving in strange, new lands every day.
Expect Resistance (36 Minutes)
Directed by: Shane Burley
Documentary Short (2014)
Looks at the “Take Back the Land” and Occupy Wall Street movements as they began to respond to the foreclosure crisis. The film follows Leonard Spears, a man fighting to keep his home after a foreclosure has passed and an eviction notice has been filed. We meet activists who are willing to put themselves on the line and take direct action to keep people like Leonard in their homes, and to even move homeless families into bank-owned homes that are sitting empty from previous foreclosures.
False Profits (South Africa) (31 minutes)
Directed by: Alternative Information Development Center &
Workers World Media Production
Documentary Short
This documentary film focuses on the global economic crisis, its impact on the working class and the responses by trade unions, government and big business in South Africa. Progressive and pro-worker in its critique, this film is stunning for telling such a similar story of collapse by big banks and capital, leading to massive unemployment and frustration by workers who remain angry today and are ready to consider serious alternatives to the current economic system.
Forward (78 Minutes)
Directed by: Dusan Harminc, Matt Mullins
Documentary Feature (2013)
Self-financed with a $1000 budget as an art experiment by Dusan Harminc and Matt Mullins, 'Forward' (Wisconsin's state motto) is an activist-level view of the uprising that swept state senators out of office, triggered the third governor recall election in American history, and inspired the Occupy movement that swept the country. This film uses the reflections of people involved in the protests of winter 2011 to show what galvanized non-radicals into a movement that quickly drew international attention to Madison, Wisconsin for political action unlike anything seen in America since the Vietnam War.
From The Shadows of Power (60 Minutes)
Directed by: Jean Donohue
Documentary Feature (1990)
This awarding winning documentary is a powerful story set in coalfields of Appalachia, Wales and England. It documents firsthand the turmoil in the aftermath of the British Miners Strike of 1984 85 and the parallel struggle of the UMWA in its long running battle with Pittston Coal. This film brings to life the real struggles of working people at the pivotal moment when state power was used to open the floodgates to global capital, aid the destruction of coalfield communities and its labor institutions. Chronicling the critical role played by working class women in these watershed events, it features economist Helen Lewis, Reverend Jesse Jackson, women miners, Betty Heathfield of Britain’s Women Against Pit Closures, NUMs Arthur Scargill, and Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.
Grace (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Alrick Brown, from a story by Julian Pimiento
Narrative Short (2013)
Grace is about the daily obstacles and dangers of living in America as an undocumented worker. Grace is a woman, a mother and an immigrant with everything to lose except her faith in someone from her past. She gives a face to the faceless, those who work tirelessly behind the scenes of our families and our nation.
Greece on the Brink (108 Minutes)
Directed by: Manuel Reichetseder
Documentary Feature (2013)
This documentary gives an in-depth insight into the profound crisis that Greece is facing today. The country, which is facing the seventh year of a deep recession, is in a state of absolute collapse at all levels: financially, socially and politically. The Greek population has been exposed to a radical change in their lives. Joblessness, homelessness and suicide rates have all hit a sad record high. A small team travelled to Greece and interviewed political activists. The team visited the newspaper cooperative Efimerida ton Syntakton and the occupied former public broadcaster ERT, which is run under workers' control. The documentary covers the change in the political landscape, as the left party of SYRIZA became the main opposition party in the last elections.
Happy Lands (104 Minutes)
Directed by: Robert Rae
Narrative Feature (2013)
It's the General Strike of 1926 - only seven years after the slaughter of the trenches. Miners’ unions lead the country against savage austerity cuts handed to the nation by a Liberal-Conservative government. Inspired by true stories from local families in Fife, The Happy Lands follows the journey of law-abiding citizens who become law-breakers in a heroic battle against the state. It's never a good time to stand up for your rights - but it's always the right time. The Happy Lands is a Theatre Workshop Scotland Production supported by Creative Scotland through The National Lottery, in association with BBC Scotland, Directed by Robert Rae. Over 1,000 local Fife residents played parts in or helped make this film. Amazing! From Roger Crow review in UK Huffington Post “Robert Rae's star-free, community acted depiction of the 1920s Fife miner's strike was a powerful piece of work, beautifully filmed by the late Scott Ward. Not perfect, but a rough, sparkling diamond.
Hard Labor (5 Minutes)
Directed by: Jan Nimmo
Documentary Short (2007)
Working conditions on the banana and pineapple plantations of Latin America are tough... here workers tell of trade union persecution, low wages and exposure to pesticides... made for the Make Fruit Fair campaign - to find out more about the social and environmental impacts of pesticides in Costa Rica.
Hart Island (Trailer: 15 Minutes)
Directed by: Erik Spink
Documentary Feature (2014)
In NYC the poor, unknown and premature infants were buried quickly and anonymously by NYC’s prisoners in a desolate potters field off the Coast of City Island. Hart Island goes to the root of the indignity, for these already marginalized people, when even in death, or thru death of a premature child, the unequal civic system takes one more shot at pushing them to the bottom of the ladder.
The Harvest (80 Minutes)
Directed by: U. Roberto Romano
Documentary Feature (2013)
Every year there are more than 400,000 American children who are torn away from their friends, schools and homes to pick the food we all eat. Zulema, Perla and Victor labor as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA profiles these three as they journey from the scorching heat of Texas’ onion fields to the winter snows of the Michigan apple orchards and back south to the humidity of Florida’s tomato fields to follow the harvest. From the Producers of the Academy-Award® Nominated film, WAR/DANCE and Executive Producer Eva Longoria, this award-winning documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of these children who struggle to dream while working 12 – 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to feed America.
Healing Across the Divides (10 Minutes)
Directed by: Rami Khader , Raeda Mansour & May Hadweh
Documentary Short (2013)
A short film and presentation from this foundation, that reaches out to marginalized working people on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to help increase the delivery of health and wellness services to these underserved populations. A fascinating look at how cooperation on key issues by workers might pave a path of understanding, critical for the future of peace in the Middle East.
Holy Apostles Church Soup Kitchen (10 minutes)
Directed by: John Redmond
Documentary Short (2013)
John Redmond's no holds barred portrait of the homeless population of downtown Manhattan, as they come to get the good food provided for the community by the Chelsea Church of the Holy Apostles. We hear what it is like to be homeless in the unequal economy of NYC and how it feels to know your only decent meal of the day will come from a church soup kitchen.
Inequality For All (85 Minutes)
Directed by: Jacob Kornbluth
Documentary Feature (2013)
A passionate argument on behalf of the middle class & workers, this film features Robert Reich-professor, best-selling author, and Clinton cabinet member-as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. The film is an intimate portrait of a man who's overcome a great deal of personal adversity and whose lifelong goal remains protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. Through his singular perspective, Reich explains how the massive consolidation of wealth by a precious few threatens the viability of the American workforce and the foundation of democracy itself. In this INCONVENIENT TRUTH for the economy, Reich uses humor and a wide array of facts to explain how the issue of economic inequality affects each and every one of us.
Iraqi Workers After The War (6 Minutes)
Directed by: Michael Zweig, Jonathan Levin
Documentary Short (2013)
For Iraqis the war the U.S. waged there continues with harsh effects, even though for most Americans that war is over and done with. This short video gives voice to Iraqi workers and union leaders – men and women - as they explain the repression they face, the efforts they are making to secure a new labor law that allows Iraqi workers to form unions, and their call for international labor solidarity. Basra in October 2012.
Jews and Baseball (91 Minutes)
Directed by: Peter Miller, Will Hechter
Documentary Feature (2010)
Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, narrated by actor Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Peter Miller, known for his the films A Class Apart, Sacco and Vanzetti, and The Internationale. The stereotype of Jews as non-athletic, as well as anti-semitism, are two issues that many Jewish baseball players faced and had to overcome. All ballplayers were exploited until the formation of the Major League Baseball Players Association.The film is in part about Jewish immigration, assimilation into American society, bigotry against Jews, the passing on of Jewish traditions even during assimilation, heroism, and the breaking of Jewish stereotypes.
Joe Hill’s Secret Canadian Hideout (9 Minutes)
Directed by: Ron Verzuh
Documentary Short (2012)
Did Wobbly protest singer Joe Hill hide out at the Rossland Miners' Union Hall back in 1912? Is the spirit of the' Man Who Never Died' alive and well in this old British Columbia mining town? Find out by seeing 'Joe Hill's Secret Canadian Hideout.'
Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor (17 Minutes)
Directed by: Zahida Pirani
Documentary Short (2013)
This film 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. (The Vamos Unidos Movement)
The Coca-Cola Case (52 Minutes)
Directed by German Gutierrez & Carmen Carcia
Documentary Feature (2013)
Documentary Shorts (2007, 2010, 2013)
-A Movement Erupts (Stop Killer Coke Campaign)
-Coke’s Union Strategy (animation)
-Child Labor in El Salvador
-Martin Luther King calls for a boycott of racist Coke in his “Dream” speech, 1968
-Coming Together and The Real Bears (Animation with Jason Mraz score and vocal)
-Killer Coke Campaign challenging Coke CEO at Stockholders Meeting
The Life and Times of Rosie The Riveter (65 Minutes)
Directed by: Connie Field
Documentary Feature (1986)
The U.S. entry into World War II created an unprecedented demand for new workers. Thousands of posters and billboards appeared calling on women to "Do the Job He Left Behind." Rosie the Riveter was born — the symbol of working women during World War II. The story is told by the women themselves, five former "Rosies," who movingly recall their histories working in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco during the war. Their testimony is interwoven with rare archival recruitment films, stills, posters, ads and music from the period, which contrast their experiences with the popular legend and mythology of Rosie the Riveter.
Living Off Tips Parts 1 & 2
Directed by Sekou Luke of http://www.sekoulukestudio.com
Documentary Shorts
The majority of people earning subminimum wages and living off tips are WOMEN. Is it a coincidence that the tipped minimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991? We don't think so. Sign our petition to #Raise213: http://bit.ly/RaiseTheTippedMinWage
On the issue of WAGE THEFT: yes, even though the law requires business owners to pay at least the full minimum wage when tips + the subminimum wage, this is rarely enforced. Low-wage workers are robbed far more often than banks, gas stations and convenience stores combined — and the perpetrators are their own employers. http://rocunited.org/stolen-wages/
Made in the USA (20 Minutes)
Directed by: Bill Gillespie
Documentary Short (2014)
An Ontario PC leader is championing U.S.-style labor laws designed to weaken unions, but similar laws in the U.S. have driven down wages and kicked increasing numbers of people out of the middle class. In this documentary, veteran journalist Bill Gillespie heads south (to the US) to find out the real impact of what the conservatives are planning for working people in Ontario.
Maestra (34 Minutes)
Directed by: Catherine Murphy
Documentary Short (2013)
Explores the experience of eight women who, as young girls, taught on the Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961.The film begins in 1961, when Cuba announced that they would eradicate illiteracy in one year. Over 250,000 citizens volunteered. Interviews, recorded testimonials, and powerful archival footage tell this story. The teachers lived with the families they taught, working alongside them in the fields during the day & teaching classes (often by lantern) at night. In the midst of the campaign, the Bay of Pigs was invaded, and in spite of the dangers and difficulties, their eyes sparkle as they share their stories and each of them insists this was the most important thing they had ever done.
Meeting Face to Face; The Iraq-U.S. Labor Solidarity Tour (27 Minutes)
Directed by: Jonathan Levin
Documentary Short (2012)
This documentary breaks through the media walls that keep Iraqi and labor voices out of the debate about the war in the United States. Meeting Face to Face follows six senior Iraqi labor leaders as they tour 25 U.S. cities speaking to union audiences, university forums, and community gatherings. We also see American working people bringing new energy and commitment to the movement for peace, social justice, and a humane foreign policy.
Nae Pasaran! (They Won't Pass) (14 Minutes)
Directed by: Felipe Bustos Sierra
Documentary Short (2013)
This stunning story of global worker cooperation is told by the recounting of events some 35 years ago, as Augusto Pinochet, backed by the US government, murdered a democratically elected leader, Salvadore Allende. As thousands of union members, students, leftists and all manner of Allende supporters were rounded up into killing centers, Pinochet began using his small aircraft fleet to strafe and attack rebel holdouts in the countryside. Scottish union airplane engine mechanics (where the jets had been built) saw news footage of this brutality and decided to take action to save fellow workers they'd never even known about, much less met. A heroic and moving story.
Never Got a Dime (14 Minutes)
Directed by: Shelby Hadden
Documentary Short (2012)
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.
New York Stories: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (70 Minutes)
Directed by: Ric Burns
Documentary Feature (1999)
This major segment from Producer/Director Ric Burns’ wonderful New York Stories, focuses in on the tragedy at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory over 104 years ago and how the tragedy sparked massive labor unrest, organizing, demonstrations and ultimately brought the foundation of today’s occupational health and safety laws.
On The Merits (33 Minutes)
Directed by: Lou Gordon
Documentary Short (1982)
Narrated by Ed Asner and produced by CWA 1180 is a serious look back at the crazy years of the Ed Koch administration, when Mayor “How Am I Doing?” was busy handing out patronage goodies to sleazy lawbreakers and outright criminals, while honest civil servants languished on the legal hiring lists.
One Generation’s Time - The Story of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes (60 Minutes)
Directed by: Shannon Gee
Documentary Feature (2013)
On June 1,1981,Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, two reform officers in Seattle’s Alaska Cannery Workers’ Union, Local 37 of the (ILWU), were gunned down as they worked in the union offices. The men were attempting to reform the union and were calling for better working conditions in the canneries. On the surface, their murders were meant to look like just another gang-related slaying. But later, the killings were revealed to be a hit originating from the Marcos regime. Silme and Gene's friends, families and colleagues sought justice for the murders, and continued the fight for equality for the months and years to come. This touching and powerful film details the murders, the fight for fair labor conditions, the civil rights movement the murdered men helped foster, and the ensuing efforts to seek justice for their killings.
Overpass Light Brigade (7 Minutes)
Directed by: Dusan Harminc, Matt Mullins
Documentary Short (2013)
'Overpass Light Brigade' is a short film that tells the story behind Wisconsin's Holders of the Lights using innovative time-lapse photography and interviews with founding members and other activists. The film showcases OLB's simple, beautiful approach to performance art and creating “the people’s bandwidth,” that beckons any who want to creatively join public discourse and voice concerns an elitist political system clamors to quiet.
Parents of the Revolution (80 Minutes)
Directed by: Dana Glazer
Documentary Feature (2014)
'Parents of the Revolution' follows a group of activist parents in the Occupy Wall Street movement who believe that it's their democratic duty to teach their kids to speak out against injustice. Are they heroes who are bringing up their kids with a civic conscience or agitators who are using their children as human shields? 'Parents of the Revolution' follows a group of families who rally against the aggressive behavior of the NYC police towards the Occupy Wall Street protesters. The film chronicles this group’s activities and raises some issues about what it means to teach kids about social justice and how our government ‘parents’ her citizens. As the protests escalate, one of the lead parents, Kirby and her group struggle with their mission. They are accused of “brainwashing their kids” and using them as “human shields.” In the face of these crises, Kirby is able to overcome her past to become a truly great leader who helps bring her community together.
RAP Retail Reality: Shifty Business (3 Minutes)
Directed by: The Center for Urban Pedagogy
Documentary Short (2014)
Retail Reality: Shifty Business was created through a collaboration of Retail Action Project, the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), and designers Maxwell Sorensen and Joshua Graver, and produced through CUP’s Public Access Design program.
The Real Rosie The Riveter Project Highlights (9 Minutes)
Directed by: Kirsten Kelly, Anne de Mare
Documentary Short (2012)
Highlight reel from the 2010 update of the Rosie The Riveter film. These clips are part of the Rosie The Riveter Project, now based out of the NYU Tamiment Labor Archives. Spargel Productions also has a new animated version of this project in production and will preview it here.
Salt of the Earth - 60th Anniversary (94 Minutes)
Directed by: Herbert Biberman
Narrative Feature (1954)
Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers, who struck to attain wage parity with Anglo workers in other mines and to be treated with dignity by the bosses. The film is an early treatment of feminism, because the wives of the miners play a pivotal role in the strike, against their husbands’ wishes. In the end, the greatest victory for the workers and their families is the realization that prejudice and poor treatment are conditions that are not always imposed by outside forces. This film was written, directed and produced by members of the original "Hollywood Ten," who were blacklisted for refusing to answer Congressional inquiries.
Schoolidarity: (98 Minutes)
Directed by: Andrew Friend
Documentary Feature (2014)
The NYC premiere of this sharply aimed film about Wisconsin and Chicago teachers fighting back against the onslaught of anti-union governors and big city mayors willing to sell out public education to the burgeoning power of the for profit charter school movement – which just happens to be mostly union-free.Through the eyes of public school teachers fighting for the benefit of all their students, Schoolidarity tells the interwoven story of the two most significant American workers' rights struggles of recent years: the weeks-long 2011 mass occupation of the Wisconsin capitol, and the Chicago teachers strike of 2012. Schoolidarity provides a history of the issues surrounding the privatization of urban public schools in the US. By documenting the ascent of the activist teacher caucus CORE, Chicago's public schools crisis is analyzed through the lens of the assault on public sector unions, where defeats are just as important to study as victories in order to insure education justice for all.
Sky Blue Collar (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Derek Frey
Narrative Short (2013)
A businessman and a carpet installer enjoy a wild and playful friendship, but when their class-conscious bosses pressure them to steer clear of each other, the Romeo and Juliet of the workaday world must decide what's more important: how we make a living, or who we're living for.
Small Fish (15 Minutes)
Directed by: Tommaso Fachin
Documentary Short (2013)
From the producers of In Dreamworks. not far away from Yongkang railway station in Zhejiang province, Huang Caigen – who suffered himself a work related injury – rented a garage and transformed it into the office of “Small Fish”, an NGO providing support and legal advice to the city’s workers. Migrant workers from the poorest Chinese regions come daily for advice. Poorly educated and without any particular working skills. They work in the thousands of metal workshops in Yongkang, the center of production of metal hardware in China. Working conditions in Yongkang are among the worst in the country and work related injuries are common. “Small Fish” has become a point of reference for thousands of “small fishes” seeking support and advice from Huang Caigen and his staff.
The Spanish General Strike (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Brandon Jourdan & Marianne Maekelbergh
Documentary Short (2013)
On March 29, 2012, millions of people across Spain went on strike. The strike, which was the first general strike since September 2010, brought the country to a near halt. The situation in Spain has grown increasingly difficult with 1 in 4 people out of work and many struggling to make rent or mortgage payments. This short film is about what happened in Barcelona on that day. This film is part of the Global Uprisings documentary series that is online at www.globaluprisings.org,
The Story Of Broke (8 minutes)
Directed by: Louis Fox for Free Range Studios
Documentary Short (2013)
The United States isn’t broke; we’re the richest country on the planet, and a country where the richest among us are doing exceptionally well. But the truth is, our economy is broken, producing more pollution, greenhouse gasses and garbage than any other country. In these and so many other ways, it just isn’t working. But rather than invest in something better, we continue to keep this ‘dinosaur economy’ on life support with hundreds of billions of dollars of our tax money. The Story of Broke calls for a shift in government spending toward investments in clean, green solutions—renewable energy, safer chemicals and materials, zero waste, education. These are real solutions that can deliver jobs AND a healthier environment. It’s time to rebuild the American Dream... but this time, let’s build it better.
The Story of America: Journey into the Divide
Part 1 (17 Minutes) & Part 2 (45 Minutes)
Directed by: Annabelle Park and Eric Byler
Documentary Features & Shorts (2014)
The Story of America is a unique project to both document the story of our divided nation in 2013, and engage those with the power to heal these divisions - the people - in the transforming power of storytelling and dialogue. We are focusing particular attention to the Moral Monday movement and the political struggle in North Carolina for the feature documentary. The fight here involves many fundamental divisions in America including election laws/voting rights, influence of money in politics, the role of government in our lives, racial divisions, demographic shifts, and economic policies/income inequality. In North Carolina, we see a story of a state and its people that is dramatically divided, yet yearning for a sense of unity and hope. We hope that our videos, screenings and discussions may contribute to healing the divide.
Part 1: Left and Right Unite to Fight Vidant Hospital Corporation's Closure of Belhaven Hospital. 17 minutes
Part 2: The Moral Mondays Movement in North Carolina: Fight Back Against the new Jim Crow. 45 Minutes
Taking the Heat (60 Minutes)
Directed by: Bann Roy
Documentary Feature (2008)
Captain Brenda Berkman of the FDNY broke every barrier in her rise to be one of the few women to lead an FDNY station, and she paid the price. Under constant attack by her own colleagues on the force, who would not adjust to a woman doing what had in the past been a man’s job, she served with honor, valor and dignity and established a path that more and more women each year travel in their efforts to serve their city. She is a true hero of NYC and a hero to workingwomen everywhere.
Tala (13 Minutes)
Directed by: Pier-Phillippe Chevigny
Narrative Short (2014)
Tala is a young Filipino domestic worker living with a bourgeois family on the north shore of Montreal. As she runs through her daily chores, dealing with the eccentricities of her employers, an unexpected phone call puts her at great risk of getting fired. Shot in a single long take and inspired by the current 'Live-In Caregiver' program of the Canadian federal government, 'Tala' tells a story of subtle oppression and re-empowerment.
Tangled Threads (11 Minutes)
Directed by: Sara Ziff
Documentary Short (2014)
"Tangled Threads" chronicles labor rights activist Kalpona Akter's organizing efforts in Bangladesh’s garment industry before and after the Rana Plaza building collapse, which claimed the lives of at least 1,138 garment workers. It does so against the backdrop of two very different worlds: New York’s modeling industry, on the one hand, and Bangladesh’s garment industry, on the other. Produced by STZFilms.
Tatanka (86 Minutes)
Directed by: Jacob Bricca
Narrative Feature (2013)
Behind every activist that fought for civil rights or occupied Wall Street, there was a loved one who also sacrificed. Tatanka follows the bizarre and heartrending journey of one man whose unchecked idealism helped change the world but nearly tore his family apart. This is a very personal and provocative look at a turbulent and life-changing time in our history. Featuring Joan Baez, Cesar Chavez and Daniel Ellsberg.
Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Fred Glass, Animated by: Mike Konopacki
Animated Short (2013)
Narrated by Ed Asner, with animation by Mike Konopacki. A cartoon 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.
Tears in the Fabric (30 Minutes)
Directed by: The Rainbow Collective, UK
Documentary Short (2014)
A Documentary Film and Resource Website by Rainbow Collective and Openvizor. In Savar, Bangladesh, Razia struggles to raise two grandchildren after losing her daughters in the Rana Plaza factory collapse, a disaster which claimed the lives of over 1000 garment workers. One year on, Tears in the Fabric follows Razia as, amidst the struggle of raising and educating her grandsons, she searches for resolution and answers through protest on the streets of Dhaka and amongst the rubble and torn fabrics of Rana Plaza. Tears in the Fabric offers a starkly honest and deeply moving view of the human cost of high street fashion.
Tooth Fairy (40 Minutes)
Directed by: Andres Arias
Documentary Short (2013)
SVA MFA graduate, Andres Arias, follows a 5 foot tall dynamo of a working people’s dentist, as she tries to make her way as a professional, both serving the working class neighborhood of Washington Hgts., traveling to developing countries to offer free dental services and trying to find her own path as a single working woman in the often confusing world of NYC.
Tornistan (4 Minutes)
Directed by: Ayce Kartal
Animated Short (2013)
A short, but message packed animated film criticizing press censorship of the Gezi Park protests, which occurred between May-July 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Through the Eye of the Needle: The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz (32 Minutes)
Directed by: Nina Shapiro- Perl
Documentary Short (2012)
Esther Nisenthal was 15 in October of 1942 when the Jews of her village in Poland were ordered by Nazis to report to a nearby train station. Esther’s story of survival is extraordinary because of her method of storytelling- stitching and embroidering. It comes to us in a series of 36 large fabric collages, intricately embroidered in vivid color, created more than 40 years after the war. They depict one young girl’s eyewitness account of the war, scenes of tragedy and trauma juxtaposed with the exquisite beauty.
Tripilaire (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Xavier Hervo
Narrative Short (2013)
Ambitious executive, Julien is about to start a new job at a new company. He finishes dressing, when suddenly the most amazing things begin to happen. Tripaliare is an old latin word meaning to torture and to torment; and this is the etymological root for the french word "travailler" (to work).
Truth Through A Lens (65 Minutes)
Directed by: Justin Thomas
Documentary Feature (2013)
A stunning feature length film debut by SVA Soc Doc MFA graduate, Justin Thomas. He follows the evolution of Brooklyn street kid, subway train tagger and local community organizing legend, Dennis Flores. Dennis had the courage to pick up a camera, when he saw his neighbors being physically abused for simply demanding decent housing and better treatment by the local police. Of course Dennis quickly becomes the target of those for whom telling the truth is not necessarily considered part of the daily job.
TWU Frontline Films (26 Minutes)
Directed by: Mary Matthews
Documentary Shorts (2013-2014)
Mary Matthews is the national digital media producer/director for the Transport Workers Union. She films workers’ struggles, setbacks and victories nationwide so that all workers everywhere can know that they are not fighting for their rights on their own. We thank the TWU for making this possible. Including:
-Two Years Too Long: TWU Allegiant Flight Attendants Rally
-Citrus Drivers Organize - Union Voices For the Flight 93 Memorial
-TWU Veterans - Operation Free PX - TWU Giving - Expanding the TWU
- TWU Local 100: Stand Back New York
Under the Bus (45 Minutes)
Directed by: Peter Hass & Keif Roberts
Documentary Feature (2013)
Anthony has driven a school bus in Staten Island, New York for twenty-four years. His plans to retire suddenly grind to a halt when the Union (ATU 1181) goes on strike in response to a contract dispute with the City of New York. The film follows Anthony and his fellow drivers to the picket line, where they find themselves battling harsh winter weather, a media blackout, Union politics and a Mayor who refuses to negotiate.
Where Does Your Breakfast Come From? (3 Minutes)
Directed by: Food Chain Alliance
Documentary Short (2014)
A charming and eye-opening live action short documentary, that reminds us of the tens of thousands of underpaid and unprotected workers who help get our daily meals into our fridges and on the table. You won’t look at your breakfast the same way again. Produced by The Food Chain Alliance, a national coalition to fight for and protect the workplace rights of food industry workers.
Willets Point: A Different World Within NYC (3 Minutes)
Directed by: Dana Kalmey
Experimental Short (2013)
A short ride on the 7 into Queens brings you into a complex, ethnically diverse world, vastly different from the city that envelops it - this is Willets Point. In a place where auto shops line pothole-peppered roads, an ethnically diverse community of thousands make their living as they continue to struggle day-to-day against the city and eminent domain.
Workers Republic (60 Minutes)
Directed by: Andrew Friend
Documentary Feature (2010)
What would you do? Your boss gives you three days' notice that your workplace is closing. You will be unemployed in a recession, without the severance the law says you deserve. If you are the employees of Republic Windows and Doors... you fight back! For six days in December of 2008, laid-off Chicago factory workers took over their closing workplace, declaring they would not leave until the owners and creditors agreed to pay them the severance they were owed. Republic's credit line had been cut off by Bank of America, which had just received billions of dollars in federal bank bailout money. These 260 workers decided, "If I don't fight, I know I'll lose. If I do fight, at least I stand a chance of winning." In these revolutionary times, when a new movement has risen from below to occupy Wall Street and expose the greed of bosses and banks, the workers of Republic are a beacon of hope and optimism, a microcosm of how everyday people may be the most qualified to forge a better world.
Working People’s Theater In NYC (8 Minutes)
Directed by: Paul Demonte, Andrew Tilson
Documentary Short (2014)
Produced by the festival to illuminate other major arts groups working everyday to create and present live theater in NYC on the lives and issues of working people. We focus on The Working Theater, NYC’s pre-eminent producer of original plays that deal with working people’s lives. The Working Theater, with Mark Plesent the current Producing Director, now in its 27th season, is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for its many provocative and timely productions, including Honey Brown Eyes, Mercy Killers and last season’s inventive play, La Ruta (The Route) that was performed in every NYC borough in the back of a tractor trailer truck. We also visit with the creators of a new play called East Towards Home and Kristen Marting, who directs HERE Theater Company in Lower Manhattan.
SCREENPLAYS 2014
BLAST - JUSTICE WHITAKER
Set in 2002 against the backdrop of politically charged Post 9/11 New York City. A teacher leads a group of inner city students on a journey of self discovery and political activism in the face of social adversity.
BROOKLYN ODYSSEY - TONY GIORDANO
Brooklyn Odyssey is the journey of a boy growing up in a funny and loving Italian American family surrounding WW II. The boy wants the American dream but discovers his family is too shy to help him attain it. So he learns to demand what he needs and witnesses battles to gain experience throughout Brooklyn. Film star, Armand Assante, believes 'Brooklyn Odyssey is a beautifully rendered moral tale demonstrating how families and teachers shape our destiny.' Tony Giordano says he wrote his script to encourage everyone to be brats to make our lives worthwhile. Then better able we'll all be to share a humanity of hearts, minds, and consciences. He says, 'Let's call LIFE the art of men acting.
CHINESE DELIVERY MAN - ISAAC HO
LOOKIN' UP - MARVIN KAPLAN
A mild-mannered, law-abiding citizen decides to murder his parasitic family in order to become a media celebrity. He hires and pays a hit man not once but twice. Once to do the job and once to call it off. Through a freak accident three of his family are killed. He's innocent but takes credit for the crimes, because he wants to get on television.
MILLIES - LORRE FRITCHY
A cash-strapped mill owner is visited by mill workers from 1914 when they discover her shaky future threatens their historic past.
VANQUISHED - AKIVA PENALOZA
Before 9/11, the worst fire to strike New York City was in 1911. That was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. This is the story of two star-crossed 16-year old immigrants find love amidst the fight for social justice.