Directed by: Richard Wormser
Running Time: 85 min
Starring: N/A
Website: N/a
Synopsis: This lively documentary tells the story of the emergence of the Communist Party USA between 1930-1945 as the foremost radical political group in America, and the Party’s subsequent collapse between 1946 and 1960 as a result of the Cold War and the revelation of Stalin’s crimes. Followed by a Q&A with Producer Bill Jersey and Producer/Director Richard Wormser, plus special guests.
Category Archives: Themes
Who is Dayani Cristal (2013)
Directed by: Marc Silver
Running Time: 1hr 25 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://whoisdayanicristal.com/
Synopsis: An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for identity leads us back across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo.
The Measure of a Man (2015)
Directed by: Stéphane Brizé
Running Time: 93 min
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: An unemployed factory worker is trying to make ends meet in working-class France.
Is there a word for that slow exhale — a kind of sad groan — you release when witnessing an emotionally excruciating moment? Whatever that sound is called, you’ll make it often during “The Measure of a Man,” a devastating look at a middle-age worker who, after losing his job, struggles to retain his dignity. Vincent Lindon, in a performance that won him the best actor award at Cannes in 2015, is heartbreaking as he interviews for positions, attends retraining sessions and eventually finds work. Yet his new job soon puts him under a quiet, brutal pressure. The most agonizing scenes in the film (directed by Stéphane Brizé; its original title, in French, is “La Loi du Marché,” or “Market Law”) don’t feature bombastic speeches or didactic critiques of capitalism. Instead, we watch small disappointments bruise a good man’s soul. KEN JAWOROWSKI (NYT)
Sacco and Vanzetti (2007)
Directed by: Peter Miller
Running Time: 1 hr 34 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://www.montereymedia.com/nogodnomaster/
Synopsis: The story of two Italian immigrant radicals who were executed in 1927 offers insights into present-day issues of civil liberties and the rights of immigrants.
Native Land (1942)
Directed by: Leo Hurwitz & Paul Strand
Running Time: 1hr 20 min
Starring: N/A
Website
Synopsis:In dramatizations, we see a farmer beaten for speaking up at a meeting, a union man murdered in a boarding house, two sharecroppers near Fort Smith Arkansas shot by men deputized by the local sheriff, a spy stealing the names of union members, and a dead Chicago union man eulogized.
A combination of a documentary format and staged reenactments, the film depicted the struggle of trade unions against union-busting corporations, their spies and contractors. It was based on the 1938 report of the La Follette Committee‘s investigation of the repression of labor organizing.
Famous African-American singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson participated as an off-screen narrator and vocalist.
Metropolis (1927)
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Running Time: 148 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://www.kinolorber.com/sites/metropolis/
Synopsis: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Senorita Extraviada (2001)
Directed by: Lourdes Portillo
Running Time: 74 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c579.shtml
Synopsis: SENORITA EXTRAVIADA, MISSING YOUNG WOMAN tells the haunting story of the more than 350 kidnapped, raped and murdered young women of Juárez, Mexico. Visually poetic, yet unflinching in its gaze, this compelling investigation unravels the layers of complicity that have allowed for the brutal murders of women living along the Mexico-U.S. border. In the midst of Juárez’s international mystique and high profile job market, there exists a murky history of grossly underreported human rights abuses and violence against women. The climate of violence and impunity continues to grow, and the murders of women continue to this day. Relying on what Portillo comes to see as the most reliable of sources – the testimonies of the families of the victims –SEÑORITA EXTRAVIADA, MISSING YOUNG WOMAN documents a two-year search for the truth in the underbelly of the new global economy. An Independent Television Service (ITVS) Production.
Prescription for Change (1986)
Directed by: Lyn Goldfarb and Tami Gold
Running Time: 30 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://andersongoldfilms.com/films/documentaries/pfc.htm
Synopsis: traditionally female, underpaid and under-appreciated. This documentary presents a rare behind-the-scenes look at nursing. Produced over ten years ago – before prime-time’s ER and CHICAGO HOPE – this documentary has a clear feminist perspective and continues to be refreshing and relevant.
Gasland (2010)
Directed by: Josh Fox
Running Time: 104 min
Starring: N/A
Website: http://one.gaslandthemovie.com/home
Synopsis: “The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudia Arabia of natural gas” just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown.”
From Bedside to Bargaining Table (1984)
Directed by: Lyn Goldfarb and Tami Gold
Running Time: 20 min
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This inspiring documentary looks at nursing from the nurse’s point of view, encouraging healthcare professionals to work together to change their poor working conditions and gain self-respect.
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