American Winter (2012) 3/7
Anak (2000) 3/22
As Goes Janesville (2012) 2/14
Black and White and Dead All Over (2012) 1/10
Brooklyn Castle (2012) 2/14
Caregiver (2008) 3/22
The Condition of the Working Class (2013) 6/19
Dreamwork China (2013) 3/13
Leviathan (2013) 2/14
Milan (2004) 3/22
A Mother’s Story (2011) 3/22
No Job For A Woman: The Women Who Fought To Report WWII (2011) 3/22
Set for Life (2012) 2/14
Sign Painters (2013) 3/11
The Spirit of ’45 (2013) 2/14
War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State (2013) 2/20
Whores’ Glory (2011) 2/28

This film is inspired by Engels’ 1844 book The Condition of the Working Class in England. How much has really changed since then?

In 2012 a group of working class people from Manchester and Salford come together to create a theatrical show from scratch, based on their own experiences and Engels’ book. They have eight weeks before their first performance. The Condition of the Working Class follows them from the first rehearsal to the first night performance and situates their struggle to get the show on stage in the context of the daily struggles of ordinary people facing economic crisis and austerity politics. The people who came together to do the show turned from a group of strangers, many of whom had never acted before, into The Ragged Collective, in little more than two months.

This film, full of political passion and anger, is a wonderful testament to the creativity, determination and camaraderie of working people that blows the media stereotypes of the working class out of the water.
- from the Progressive Film Club (Dublin) write-up

The main character is a Filipina overseas contract worker, one of the many residents of the archipelago who is forced to leave her family and take a higher paying job in a more prosperous Asian country. While she is working her employer refuses to let her take a vacation, nor does he deliver her mail to her. She is unaware, therefore, that her husband has died. When she finally returns to the Philippines she is met with resentment and hatred by her children. The movie studies how she overcomes these feelings and rebuilds the relationship with her family.

Trials and tribulations of Filipino workers dreaming of a bright future in a foreign land.

Based on real-life stories of Filipino caregivers abroad. Director Roño searched for stories of their lives abroad and personally talked to some who shared their experiences. Roño has friends who work as caregivers; their real-life scenarios were directly depicted in the film. Cuneta stars as Sarah, a mother who left her son in the Philippines and also a teacher who relinquished her profession in lieu of care giving in London, in hopes of augmenting her salary. One of the top-grossing Filipino films of the year.

Make-up artist grabs a chance to work as illegal immigrant in the US and finds that the grass is not greener on the other side.

61 minutes, Color/BW, DVD, English 

When World War II broke out, reporter Martha Gellhorn was so determined to get to the frontlines that she left husband Ernest Hemingway, never to be reunited. Ruth Cowan’s reporting was hampered by a bureau chief who refused to talk to her. Meanwhile, photojournalist Dickey Chappelle wanted to get so close to the action that she could feel bullets whizzing by. This award-winning documentary tells the colorful story of how these three tenacious war correspondents forged their now legendary reputations during the war—when battlefields were considered no place for a woman.

Narrated by Emmy® Award winner Julianna Margulies, this film features an abundance of archival photos and interviews with modern female war correspondents, as well as actresses bringing to life the written words of these remarkable women. Their repeated delegation to the sidelines to cover the “woman’s angle” succeeded in expanding the focus of war coverage to bring home a new kind of story— a personal look at the human cost of war.

The dreams and rights of a new generation in the world’s factory. 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 ZNGOs strive to give sense and meaning to works like rights, dignity and equity.

Directors: Faythe Levine & Sam Macon

website: 
http://signpaintermovie.blogspot.com/

Press inquiries: signpaintermovie@gmail.com

There was a time, as recently as the 1980s, when storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards, and even street signs were all hand-lettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of quicker and cheaper. The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our landscape. Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade.

In 2010 filmmakers Faythe Levine and Sam Macon began documenting these dedicated practitioners, their time-honored methods, and their appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. Sign Painters, the first anecdotal history of the craft, features the stories of more than two dozen sign painters working in cities throughout the United States. The documentary and book profiles sign painters young and old, from the new vanguard working solo to collaborative shops such as San Francisco’s New Bohemia Signs and New York’s Colossal Media’s Sky High Murals.

With 46% of our country now living in poverty or near poverty, and with epic budget battles being waged at all levels of government over the coming year, American Winter is a timely and moving film that shows the crushing effects of the mortgage meltdown, high unemployment, the health care crisis, and cuts to the social safety net through the personal perspective of struggling families.  American Winter takes up where Inside Job left off, showing the devastating human toll of the economic downturn from the point of view of families caught in a day-to-day struggle to survive.

The timing of the film’s release and outreach campaign will come at a moment in our nation’s history when poverty and economic inequalities are increasing, at the same time that pressure is mounting to slash budgets to critical social and human services.  Budget cuts are front and center in the 2013 news cycle, and they are at the top of the political agenda.  This film can be a touchstone in the media and in politics, giving a voice to those most affected in the public debate on homelessness, unemployment, housing issues, and funding the social safety net.

You can see a preview here:  
http://americanwinterfilm.com