2026; R; 1h 22m
A small town musician pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music after a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral.
Director: Michael Greene
Writers: Michael Greene, Sean McBride, Ski-ter Jones
Stars: Jay Dee, Daniel ‘Doknow’ Lopez, Uziel Pantoja Delgado
54 minutes
Folk singing rabble-rouser U. Utah Phillips crisscrossed the country on freight trains searching for teachers. He experienced ultimate freedom, no home ahead and none behind but also the works of mercy. He discovered the dynamic struggle of people to organize themselves and demand a quality of life for themselves and those around them that provides bread, yes, but roses too.
Tales From the Long Memory follows the people who look to Utah as their teacher now while they continue the work that inspired him throughout his life. In Detroit, the Wobbly Kitchen shows how the simple act of feeding someone can spark a community of solidarity in a city struggling to rebuild its glory. In Madison, the sweet sounds of labor songs echo through the capital building every day at noon. In Portland, the Sisters of the Road Café serve up dignity and nourishment at a price you can afford. And in a quaint northern California gold rush town, a dedicated group of community members grow an idea into a house of hospitality called Utah’s Place.
Singing for Justice tells the story of Faith Petric, a political radical, community organizer and charismatic performer who united folk music and progressive causes from the 1930s through the early 2000s. Narrated largely by Faith herself, the film weaves her musical and political journeys to showcase the central role of folk music in the transformational social movements of the 20th century.
Co-director: Estelle Freedman
ebf@stanford.edu
info@singingforjustice.com
Precious Memories has one act, 84 minutes long. I wrote the script but not the songs, which are by Sarah Ogan Gunning (“I Hate the Capitalist System”); her brother Jim Garland (“I Don’t Want Your Millions Mister,” the real point of which is that we do); and her half-sister Aunt Molly Jackson (“I Am A Union Woman”), plus two traditional ballads and excerpts from three gospel songs.
THE PLAY: Part memory play, part eulogy, part concert, this one-woman show written by legendary folk singer and community organizer Si Kahn traces the life of Sarah Ogan Gunning, an unsung hero of American folk/labor music history. The play finds Sarah alone in her Detroit basement apartment on the evening after her sister Aunt Molly Jackson’s funeral, as she attempts to set the record straight and say goodbye. Although Sarah Ogan Gunning is a name almost unknown to us today, her powerful songs about the coal mining region of Eastern Kentucky in the 1930’s were an influence on Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and other famous folk singers of her day.
Si Kahn <sikahn36@gmail.com
Musical
United States
Writer and Composer: Si Kahn
Musical Direction: Jim Peterson
45 Minutes
In this innovative one-woman musical by the legendary singer, songwriter, and activist Si Kahn, Mother Jones awakens in Heaven which, to her surprise and delight, turns out to be an Irish pub. There, she meets a trio of musicians who recount the events of her life through music and stories.
Si Kahn contact: sikahn36@gmail.com
Director: Catherine Capellaro and Andrew Rohn
Contact: andrew rohn rohn@chorus.net http://www.laborfest.net or http://home.collegeclub.com/tempslave/tshome.html or Labor Video Project, 415-282-1908 lvpsf@labornet.org
94m; U.S.
Director: Charles Lederer
Cast: James Cagney, Shirley Jones and Roger Smith
Synopsis (IMDB): Jake MacIllaney will do just about anything to win the presidential election of longshoreman union Local 26. When he encounters young upright attorney Dan Cabot and Cabot’s attractive wife, Linda, MacIllaney breaks up their marriage, pursues Linda, and pins a grand larceny rap on Dan. And all set to music!
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