93m; U.S.
Director: Michael Franti
Synopsis: Musician and activist Michael Franti’s documentary on his mission of peace in the Middle East.
Contact: Alex Lawson alex.lawson@gmail.com 847.219.8393 http://www.iknowimnotalone.com/ Guerrilla Management 2180 Bryant Street STE #206 San Francisco, CA 94110 415.865.2170
90m; U.K.
Director: Olive Clark
Synopsis: The story of the lives of five waitresses stuck in a second rate London restaurant with delusions of grandeur. Customers come and go, unaware of the real concerns of these women; a rat or two in the kitchen, bitter arguments about life and art, as well as a coup d’état in the kitchen… all overshadowed by the anticipation of a booking by a famous Hollywood film star.
38m; Franc9
Director: Mario Marret and Chris Marker
Synopsis: From 1967 to 1976 Chris Marker was a member of SLON (the “Company for the Launching of New Works”). One of several groups that emerged in those years in which filmmakers, militants, and others came together on a cooperative, parallel basis, SLON was based on the idea that cinema should not be thought of solely in terms of commerce. 1967 was also the year an important strike broke out at Rhodiaceta, a textile plant owned by the Rhone-Poulenc trust in the city of Besançon, France. The strike was unusual in character because the workers refused to disassociate the industrial conflict from a social and cultural agenda. The workers’ demands concerned not only salary and job security, but also the very lifestyle imposed on them by society. So it was only natural that Chris Marker, along with other technicians and members of SLON, would visit Besançon to document the strike, and the lives and attitudes of the workers. The film’s most important moments are composed of conversations with workers and their wives. They believe the working class is increasingly at the mercy of a system that gives them no power, a system that would like them to remain powerless. And so it was that their local demands grew into questions about the larger political system. The strikers eventually returned to work with few gains, but had developed a sense of their power, which helped lay the groundwork for May ’68, when France was rocked by revolutionary protests.
Contact: http://icarusfilms.com/new2003/bien.html
105m; U.K.
Director: John Boulting
Cast: Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers
Synopsis: A naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labour union.
21m; U.S.
Director: Steve Fletcher
Synopsis: Behind the scenes at the NYU Graduate Student Strike.
Contact: fletch@nyu.edu
95m; Belgium/Luxembourg/France
Director: Olivier Masset-Depasse
Synopsis: “[A] fascinating study of perseverance in the face of subhuman treatment.” –Boyd Van Hoeij, Variety. Tania (Anne Coesens), a Russian immigrant living illegally in Belgium, is willing to do whatever it takes to prevent her son and herself from being deported. When Tania’s illegal status is discovered, she is arrested and sent to a detention center, where she meets other illegals like herself, struggling to stay in their adopted homeland. Things soon spiral out of control when she claims a false name and finds herself in the middle of a complex deportation situation. Winner, Society of Dramatic Actors and Composers’ SACD Prize, 2010 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
60m; U.S.
Director: Randy Croce
Synopsis (http://ifstonecouldspeak.wordpress.com): “Thousands of stonecutters emigrated from northern Italy, to Barre, Vermont, “Granite Capital of the World.” This documentary follows the artisans and their families from quarries, workshops and schools in Italy to granite carving sheds in New England.”
19m; U.K.
Director: Brian Davis
Synopsis: If a Body Meet a Body explores the lives and jobs of three unique individuals who are constantly surrounded by death at the busiest coroner’s office in the world.
Website: http://www.ifabodymovie.com/
Director: Ellie Walton
Synopsis: Documentary about hispanic day workers in DC.
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 