2016 Global Labor Film Festival; 5th Conference of Labor Film Festival Organizers; Labor Film Database
2016 Global Labor Film Festival (4th annual)
Twelve films, eight cities and four countries comprise the fourth annual Global Labor Film Festival.
The Global Labor Film Festival is organized by labor film festivals around the world who each screen a labor-themed film of their choice during the month of May, chosen because May 1 — International Workers’ Day — is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries.
The Global Labor Film Festival showcases the growing worldwide scope of nearly three dozen film festivals focused on films about work, workers and their issues and was first conceived at the second annual International Conference of Labor Film Festival Organizers at the 2012 DC Labor FilmFest, both of which are organized by the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO.
Anyone doing labor-themed screenings in May – or interested in doing so in 2016 — is welcome to join the Global Labor Film Festival; email streetheat@dclabor.org
5th Conference of Labor Film Festival Organizers 
Organizers from a dozen labor film festivals across six countries gathered October 13-15 in Washington DC for the fifth annual Conference of Labor Film Festival Organizers. (click here for the conference program, which includes contact info for all participants) The gathering was hosted by the DC Labor Film Festival, which was joined by the Construir Cine Labor Festival (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the Dublin Labor Film Festival (Ireland), the Haifa International Labor Film Festival (Israel), the Korean Labor Film Festival, May Day Workers Film Festival (San Diego, CA), Muestra de Cine y Trabajo (Madrid, Spain), the Rochester (NY) Labor Film Series, the San Francisco LaborFest, Santa Fe Labor Film Festival, and the Workers Unite Film Festival (New York City). The gathering’s chief purpose was to continue to build the global labor film festival movement by improving existing festivals, supporting new festivals and finding and screening the best labor films worldwide. The group also began planning for the fourth Global Labor Film Festival in May 2016 (see story below on the 2015 GLFF)
The Labor Film Database lists nearly 2,000 films and videos, searchable by title, director, actors and/or keywords (see search window at right). We’ve also categorized the database (at right, below “Categories”) and you can check out our tag cloud (also at right) to make it easier to find films and videos about the topics you’re interested in. Many of the entries also include trailers and film stills. Categories include: Highly Recommended Labor Films; Labor Film Festivals; New/Just Added; Available Online; Genre; Occupation/Type of Work; Themes.
HELP BUILD THE DATABASE! The Database is a handy resource for labor film festival programmers and anyone interested in films about work, workers and worker’s issues.We’re constantly updating the database with films new and old and welcome your suggestions for additions to the Labor Film Database; please click here to submit them for consideration.
martha kimble
March 30, 2015 at 9:11 pm
who directed who moderated 1970’s san francisco labor workers 1970’s film “we do the work”
Linda R. Christenson
May 10, 2016 at 3:50 pm
I’m seeking production date information about a series of films created by Madeleine Films in Paris probably in the 1950s. The series comprises 12 films, each dealing with two or more subjects of then-current interest to a trade union audience. It went by various names, basically LABOR WORLD, LABOUR WORLD, LABOUR WORLD MAGAZINE, and others in various languages (e.g., WELT DER ARBEIT in German). I’m updating THE MARSHALL PLAN FILMOGRAPHY (www.marshallfilms.org, 2002) and have located two sources of copies: IISG-IISH in Amsterdam, which has many language copies of all of the 12 issues, and CHL (Christoph Hoellriegl Library [of films based on the working-class movement in Austria and the Marshall Plan in Austria].” He has all twelve issues of WELT DER ARBEIT and issues #s 1,5, and 7 of the English-language version.
Mr. Hoellriegl’s father was instrumental in the birth of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖeGB) in the 1950’s(?) and Christoph has spent most of his working life doing film and publicity work with that organization, and he may well be part of your organization. He is a friend, but he often travels, and I haven’t spoken with him in about a year.
I’m glad to know of the efforts to preserve and share labor films. Joe Glazer was a family friend, and we have several of his recordings and miss him very much. I know he would be pleased to see what you are all doing.