56m; U.S.
Director: Jim Seguin
Synopsis: Bio-pic doc of Nate Smith who led protests against black exclusion from white unions.
Contact: http://www.natesmithmovie.ocm
Category Archives: Genre
What Harvest for the Reaper (1968)
59m; U.S.
Synopsis (Library of Congress): “A documentary of immigrant farm workers trapped by perpetual debt and showing recruitment, camp conditions and the type of work they do. The views of the growers and processors as well as workers are presented.”
What Would The Drop Know About That? (2007)
13m; Germany
Director: Jan Zabeil
Contact: http://www.ish.fm/site/index.php?article_id=14&clang=0
When Clouds Clear / Después de la Neblina (2008)
77m; Ecuador/U.S.
Director: Danielle Bernstein & Anne Slick
Synopsis: A documentary about the history and struggle of the remote Ecuadorian town, Junín and the conflicts that have arisen due to international mining interests.
Contact: Danielle Bernstein, Clear Films danielle@clearfilms.org
When Miners March (2006)
7 discs
Director: Ross Ballard
Synopsis: William C. Blizzard, the son of Bill Blizzard, the “general” of the Battle of Blair Mountain, with the assistance of Wess Harris, compiled his many accounts of the West Virginia Mine Wars in his book, “When Miners March.” He had written most of the book for various labor publications anonymously in the 1950s. In 2005 Ross Ballard took the book and turned it into a monumental “audio movie,” complete with sound effects and original music. Songs on the special CD are by T. Paige Dalporto, Elaine Purkey, Hazel Dickens, Mike Morningstar, John Lilly and the Irish duo of Enda Cullen and Ian Smith.
Contact: http://www.mountainwhispers.com/MWGiftShop.htm.
When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
90m; U.S.
Director: John M. Stahl
Cast: Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer and Barbara O’Neil
Synopsis: Washington Post columnist and American Prospect editor Harold Meyerson is one of the most incisive political commentators in the United States. Harold has also written about movies and entertainment (He is author of the book “Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz?” about the lyricist Yip Harburg) so I asked him to write about anything he wanted to related to movies and politics. Harold can write authoritatively about almost anything. His fascinating review of the 1930s movie When Tomorrow Comes – a film he calls the “Lefty-est Thirties studio movie you’ve never heard of,” can be found at http://www.politicsfilm.blogspot.com/ Hope you enjoy this look back in film history which is an implicit critique of the state of filmmaking today. Kelly Candaele
When the Day’s Work is Done (1964)
30m; 29 min. sd. b&w. 16 mm.
Describes the work of union members who devote their after-work hours to the aid of their neighbors and the betterment of their communities. Features AFL-CIO president George Meany and vice-president Joseph Beirne.
Available from:
University of Maryland Libraries
Theodore R. McKeldin Library
College Park, MD 20742 United States
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24062 United States
Where Do You Stand? Stories From An American Mill (2003)
63m; U.S.
Director: Alexandra Lescaze
Synopsis: Cannon textile workers (Kannopolis, North Carolina) contract fight to win one of the largest industrial union contracts in the South.
Contact: http://www.wheredoyoustand.info alexandra lescazemightyff@mac.com 845-353-2855 or 917-696-2494 / http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0169
Where the Green Ants Dream (1984)
100m; Germany/Australia
Director: Werner Herzog
Synopsis (IMDB): The geologist Lance Hackett is employed by an Australian mining company to map the subsoil of a desert area covered with ant hills prior to a possible uranium extraction. His work is impeded by some aborigines who explain that this is the place where the green ants dream. Disturbing their dreaming will destroy humanity they claim. Hackett informs the company which offers various “solutions” such as a large amount of money or a percentage of a possible revenue. Invited on a trip to a city some of the aborigines sees a military aeroplane and express the wish to own it. The company buys it and gives it to the aborigines as a sign of good will. A runway is made in the desert and the plane is flown to the location. All negotiations concerning the area fail and the dispute goes to a court of the Commonwealth. Parties and experts are heard, obstacles are met such as an aborigine who is the sole survivor of his tribe (and language) and therefore no-one understands what he is saying.
Which Side Are You On? (1984)
53m; U.K.
Director: Ken Loach
Synopsis: Workers’ perspective on massive miners’ strike.
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