10:36; U.S.
Director: Robert Cannon
Synopsis: An animated short film sponsored by the United Autoworkers which breaks down various racist ideas of difference among peoples. In some ways the presentation will seem awkward to a modern audience, but considering when it was made and the intended audience (rank-and-file white workers), it is an impressive document.
In the 1920s, Ford Motor Co. was considered the leader in manufacturing technology and practices. Elements of Taylor’s scientific management were combined with what economists now call “efficiency wages” (wages well above the general market – the famous $5 day). In this video, workers and others of that era reflect on working at Ford. Some are positive; others not.
U.S.
Director: Hima B
Synopsis: License to Pimp is a feature documentary about the choices that three San Francisco strippers make as their workplaces engage in illegal labor practices. Strip clubs refuse to pay strippers even minimum wages & actually charge them for the privilege to work. I worked in half of San Francisco’s strip clubs during the 1990s and witnessed how co-workers felt economically pressured to engage in prostitution to make their quotas to avoid being fired. Now as a filmmaker, I uncover current working conditions & try to find out how strip clubs are able to operate outside the law.
Contact: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/himab/license-to-pimp-documentary
57m; U.K.
Director: Margaret Dickinson
Synopsis: “Builders and The Games is a 57 minute feature documentary about construction workers and the building of the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford, London. Shot between 2007 and 2012, it looks at how far the Olympic Site set an example to the construction industry and compares outcomes with early promises about safety, training, jobs and recruitment.”
Contact: http://constructionandthegames.com/
Trailer
90m; U.S.
Director: Craig Zobel
Cast: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker and Pat Healy
Synopsis: “In the middle of a bad day Sandra (Ann Dowd), the harried manager of a fast-food franchise, receives a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer. He accuses an employee named Becky (Dreama Walker) of theft and instructs Sandra to subject the pretty teenager to a series of humiliations: detain her in the stock room, confiscate her belongings, conduct a strip search and on and on. As the title suggests, at each step of this increasingly elaborate and unnerving hoax, Sandra and Becky do what they are told.”
–‘Compliance’ Raises Questions About Human Behavior; NYT 8/10/2012
Trailer
142m; U.S.
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland
Synopsis: In a dystopic future North America called Panem, the wealthy elite who live in the central city (known as the Capitol) exploit the impoverished workers of the rest of the country who are divided into twelve districts. The Capitol employs a range of social controls, including the Hunger Games, an annual event where two children from each district are thrown into an arena and fight until only one is left alive.
Into these games is thrust Katniss Everdeen, the daughter of a coal miner, who must use her wits and skills to survive while trying to maintain her humanity, even as her examples of resistance and solidarity begin to inspire some of the districts towards rebellion.
Trailer
KLEBER MENDONÇA FILHO
Brazil, 2012, 124 minutes, 35mm, Color, film’s website
Cast: Irandhir Santos (Clodoaldo), Gustavo Jahn (João), Meve Jinkings (Bia), W. J. Solha (Francisco), Irma Brown (Sofia), Lula Terra (Anco), Yuri Holanda (Dinho) and Clébia Souza (Luciene).
The setting is the city of Recife, Brazil, on a seaside street, much of it owned by Francisco (W.J. Solha), an old-school paterfamilias. Director Kleber Mendonca Filho divides the film into three chapters, effortlessly weaving together his characters while slipping in small details that cumulatively speak of class, race, and the nation’s uneasy past. Beatriz (Maeve Jinkings) is almost always seen in her apartment, an airy setup with all the appurtenances of the middle class. She has certain needs, of course. Just arrived on the street is a private security team, which convinces residents that its services are needed. Viewers know the protection required is from inner demons, not outer ones. That Filho can juggle so many important issues without being heavy-handed or dropping a single one speaks volumes about his strengths. Neighboring Sounds captures the very fabric of Brazilian society, whose seemingly porous hierarchies prove to be prohibitively rigid. —Variety
Trailer
Director: Katharine Round
Synopsis: Based on the best-selling book The Spirit Level, this film shows why a more equal society is better for all of us, including the rich. Yet still this gap is at its highest level for 30 years. It’s time for action, and a documentary is the most powerful way we can raise awareness and mobilise people.
Contact: http://thespiritleveldocumentary.com/
Trailer
3m; U.S.
Director: American Federation of Teachers
Synopsis: Documentary on Margaret Haley and the origins of American Federation of Teachers in Chicago, circa 1917.
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