76m; U.S.
Director: Pen Tennyson
Cast: Paul Robeson, Edward Chapman and Simon Lack
Synopsis (IMDB): In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.
14m; U.S.
Director: Mimi Pickering
Synopsis: Mimi Pickering of Appalshop was hired to direct a film about the proposed pulp mill to be built at Apple Grove, Mason County. The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation paid for the film that explores the dangers that the pulp mill would present – to the workers and the local environment including dumping dioxin into the Ohio River. Many groups, both labor and environmental, opposed the mill, supported by Gov. Caperton and the Legislature. Eventually, the mill was not built. The film also examines the impact that the company’s pulp mill had in the area around Monroe, AL. The film was broadcast on WV television several times. See Doug Hawes-Davis’ film,” Green Rolling Hills” and “Southbound” from High Plains Films. Access: Steve Fesenmaier, WVLC
90m; Mexico-U.S.S.R.
Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Synopsis: Eisenstein shows us Mexico in this movie, its history and its culture. He believes, that Mexico can become a modern state.
Director: Ken Loach
Synopsis: Response of the British trade union movement to the challenge posed by the policies of the Thatcher government.
119; Brazil
Director: Carlos Diegues
Cast: Jonas Bloch, Zózimo Bulbul and Emmanuel Cavalcanti
Synopsis (IMDB): Palmares is a 17th-century quilombo, a settlement of escaped slaves in northeast Brazil. In 1650, plantation slaves revolt and head for the mountains where they find others led by the aged seer, Acotirene. She anoints one who becomes Ganga Zumba, a legendary king. For years, his warriors hold off Portuguese raiders; then he agrees to leave the mountains in exchange for reservation land and peace. It’s a mistake. Zumbi, a warrior whose mother was killed by Portuguese and who spent 15 years with the Whites, stays in the mountains to lead Palmares. In 1694, the Portuguese import a ruthless captain from São Paulo to lead an assault on the free Blacks. Can Zumbi keep Palmares free?
57m; Netherlands
Director: Sven Jense
Synopsis: Documentary about African immigrants coming to work in Europe – if they make it. Sven Jense reversed their route, traveling from Amsterdam to Mali, West Africa. On his way he meets with different migrants, from a mother in Paris to a construction engineer who never made it. Sven Jense is a filmmaker who has his roots in theatre and political science. REplace is his first documentary. THEME: Migrant workers
88m;
Director: Elizabeth Holder, Xan Parker
Cast: Umber Ahmad, Maria Bartiromo and Roslyn Dickerson
Synopsis (IMDB): While there have been many movies about Wall Street, there has been little attention given to the specific challenges and stresses of the high-ranking women who work there. Risk/Reward is an insider’s view of the demands and sacrifices that working mothers have in a typically high-powered, male- dominated industry. This film was selected for the 2003 Tribeca, Hot Docs and Full Frame Film Festivals (among others) and will air on the Oxygen network.
89m; Mexico
Director: Sebastián Cordero
Synopsis: A romantic thriller about a construction worker in hiding for killing his foreman who hides in the mansion where his girlfriend works as a maid.
Contact: Esther Devos edevos@wildbunch.eu
20m; U.S.
Director: Michael Hamm, Jonathan King
Synopsis: This story is about the 2,000 independent truck drivers working at the Port of Oakland, The film gives us a look into the lives of the drivers and their struggles to earn a living wage, support their families, and stay healthy as they do their jobs, transporting goods in and out of the port. It also shows their efforts to build a community coalition to protect their jobs and their health and make their voices heard.
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