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Category Archives: Outsourcing

Blue Elephants (2010)

14m; Germany

Director: Moritz Siebert

Synopsis: This short documentary shows the dire labour conditions of migrant workers in the Malaysian electronics industry. Men and women from Nepal, Indonesia and other countries come as contract workers to work for Dell, HP, Intell and other well known brand companies. Migrant workers pay several thousands of dollars in commission to labour agents to get work permits. Workers often engage in heavy debts to obtain such permits which may grant them a stay in Malaysia for five year maximum. Time to pay off these debts is limited, while pay is low. Migrant workers face discrimination in Malaysian society as well as on the work floor, and have to accept bad housing conditions. The work load is heavy, and when worker fail to meet set targets, they risk immediate dismissal. When workers get pregnant or fall ill, they are sent back home at their own expenses. The documentary has been produced by Moritz Siebert in cooperation with World Economy, Ecology, development (WEED), for the European Procure IT Fair campaign.

Contact: http://www.vimeo.com/18617196

 

For Man Must Work or The End of Work (2000)

52m; Canada

Director: Jean-Claude Burger

Synopsis: Globalization and the impacts of plant closings.

Contact: First Run/Icarus Films 718-488-8642 f 718-488-8900 v Tom Hyland

 

The Great Pretenders (2007)

30m; U.S.

Director: Jeremy Cohen

Cast: Raniah Al-Sayed, Keith Brown and Al Bundonis

Synopsis (IMDB): A biting satire from the front lines of the American workplace, where layoffs are so routine they’ve created their own industry – outplacement. Elite Transition Services promises laid-off worker Scott Matter help finding a job and getting back on his feet. But as the job search grows increasingly desperate, Scott finds himself caught in a corporate purgatory where the absurdities of office life are brought into vivid relief.

 

Trailer

 

The Organizer (I Compagni) [1963]

126m; Italy

Director: Mario Monicelli

Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori and Gabriella Giorgelli

Synopsis: Exploited textile factory workers in Turin, Italy at the turn of the century and the beginnings of their fight for better working conditions.

 

 

 

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Outsourced (2006)

103m; US

Director: John Jeffcoat

Writers: George Wing, John Jeffcoat

Cast: Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker and Asif Basra

Outsourced is a modern day comedy of cross-cultural conflict and romance. Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) spends his days managing a customer call center in Seattle until his job, along with those of the entire office, are outsourced to India. Adding insult to injury, Todd must travel to India to train his new replacement. As he navigates through the chaos of Bombay and an office paralyzed by constant cultural misunderstandings, Todd yearns to return to the comforts of home. But it is through his team of quirky yet likable Indian call center workers, including his friendly and motivated replacement, Puro (Asif Basra), and the charming, opinionated Asha (Ayesha Dharker), that Todd realizes that he too has a lot to learn – not only about India and America, but about himself. He soon discovers that being outsourced may be the best thing that ever happened to him. (Shadowcatcher Entertainment)

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Roger & Me (1989)

91m; U.S.

Director: Michael Moore

Synopsis: Michael Moore’s documentary about the decline of Flint, Michigan and the role of GM in the deindustrialization of a once-thriving industrial city.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Soul’s Haven (Il posto dell’anima) [2003]

106m; Italy

Director: Riccardo Milani

Cast: Silvio Orlando, Michele Placido and Claudio Santamaria

Synopsis (IMDB): Three workers of a tire factory, in southern Italy, lead the struggle against the American company owner of the factory who wants to close the Italian branch in which they work.