France
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Synopsis: Depressed coalmining region of France
Category Archives: Genre
It Should Happen to You (1954)
86m; U.S.
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon and Peter Lawford
Synopsis: Gladys Glover has just lost her modelling job when she meets filmmaker Pete Sheppard shooting a documentary in Central Park. For Pete it’s love at first sight, but Gladys has her mind on other things — like making a name for herself. Through a fluke of advertising she winds up with her name plastered over 10 billboards throughout city. Suddenly all of New York is clamoring for Gladys Glover without knowing why and playboy Evan Adams III is making a play for Gladys that even Pete knows will be hard to beat.
It Takes a Child (1998)
56m
Director: Judy Jackson
Synopsis (Bulldog Films): Craig Kielburger was 12 years old when child labor activist Iqbal Massih was killed in Pakistan. He immediately went on a seven-week trip to South Asia. What he learned has turned him into a passionate, articulate and effective advocate on behalf of child laborers everywhere. He is determined to put child labor on the international agenda. He is 15 years old in this film.
He started a child-run organization called Free the Children, which now has 10,000 members worldwide. It directs lobbying and petition efforts at governments and big business. F.I.F.A. now won’t put its logo on any soccer balls that are made with child labor. Free the Children has raised over $150,000 to buy children out of bondage and create a school for them, while raising world awareness
Contact: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/child.html
It’s An Attack (2008)
8m; U.S.
Synopsis: From Seattle and the WTO, to Mexico and the struggles of Los Mineros, to Colombia and the brutal murders of trade union activists, It’s an Attack highlights the global attack on workers and the ongoing activism of the United Steelworkers in fighting for the rights of all workers, in the U.S. and around the world. The video premiered at the USW 2008 Convention.
Jaan Hai To Jahan Hai
19m; India
Synopsis: A health and safety film used by the Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation to educate workers about the consequences of not following health and safety rules and best practices. The film’s use of local language, traditions and entertainment value has proved successful in reaching workers in the mining sector that often come from rural or agrarian backgrounds. Jaan Hai to Jahan Hai is one of several documentaries the INMF has been actively involved in producing regarding workers’ health and safety.
Contact: INMF 2009 Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival
Jack Johnson, the Big Fights (1970)
90m; U.S.
Director: William Cayton
Synopsis: Story of black boxer who was forced into exile in 1910.
James’ Journey to Jerusalem (2003)
91m; Israel
Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
Cast: Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe, Salim Dau and Arieh Elias
Synopsis (Wikipedia): The film’s plot focuses on an African teenager named James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) whom hails from the fictional African village Entshongweni, who goes on a pilgrimage journey, on behalf of his village, towards the Holy Land, Israel, and especially in order to come to Jerusalem. Upon arriving in Israel, James is suspected to be an illegal foreign worker and as a result he is arrested. Shimi (Salim Daw), a contractor of foreign workers, releases him on bail to work with him. After James explains to him that he did not travel to Israel to work, Shimi clarifies to him that since he paid for his release, James now owes him. Therefore James is forced to interrupt his journey and begin working for Shimi.
Janie’s Janie (1970)
25m; U.S.
Director: Geri Ashur
Synopsis: Woman who was a white working class wife kicks her husband out. Now on welfare, she describes her new-found militancy.
The Job (2007)
4m; U.S.
Director: Jonathan Browning, Shaun Greenspan
Synopsis: The tables are turned on a group of white collar professionals in this amusing tale set in a parallel universe right here on earth.
Contact: Youtube link to watch the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XGJq8wrw5I Film
Website: http://www.thejobtheshort.com/
I Am A Man: Dr. King and the 1968 AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike
Synopsis: On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to support AFSCME sanitation workers. That evening, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a packed room of supporters. The next day, he was assassinated. (NOTE: see At The River I Stand for a 56m version of this issue).
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