20m; Cuba
Synopsis: Australian workers travel to Cuba.
16m
Director: Min Sook Lee
Synopsis (CUPE, Local 1011): This short documentary film produced by Min Sook Lee chronicles the struggles of municipal workers in Windsor, Ontario after they are forced to go on strike to protect benefits and pension for future generations. Premiered on the floor of the CUPE Ontario Convention, held May 27-31.
Website: http://vimeo.com/4967233
58m; U.S.
Director: Mark Lipman & Leah Mahan
Synopsis: Holding Ground is at once a cautionary tale of urban policies gone wrong and a message of hope for all American cities. In 1985, African-American, Latino, Cape Verdean, and European-American residents in Roxbury, MA united to revitalize their community. The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative went on to gain national recognition as residents fought to close down illegal dumps, gain unprecedented control of land from City Hall and create a comprehensive plan to rebuild the fabric of their community. Through the voices of committed residents, activists and city officials, this moving documentary shows how a Boston neighborhood was able to create and carry out its own agenda for change.
30m; U.S.
Director: Sue Hagedorn
Synopsis: 83 day nurses’ strike.
Contact: www.holdingthelinefilm.com
96m; U.S.
Director: Ann Seidl
Synopsis: How librarians are seen in film.
Contact: http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com Melissa McGuire; mdmcguire@charter.net
14m; Romania
Director: Paul Negoescu
Cast: Gabriel Spahiu, Marian Ralea
Synopsis: Honest drama about a taxi driver and his customer who discover the negative sides of emigration.
Contact: International Film Festival Rotterdam Production Department: production@filmfestivalrotterdam.com
99m; Canada
Director: Laura Sky
Synopsis: Children and families in Calgary who experience poverty and homelessness. In a boom economy, even parents with decent paying jobs struggle to put a roof over their families’ heads.
129m; U.S.
Director: John Ford
Cast: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell and John Carradine
Synopsis (IMDB): A poor Midwest family is forced off of their land. They travel to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
95m; U.S.
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Cast: Jane Fonda, George Segal, Ed McMahon
Synopsis (IMDB): When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
63m; U.S.
Director: Joanne Grant
Synopsis: FUNDI: THE STORY OF ELLA BAKER reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker played in shaping the American civil rights movement, such as helping to launch the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The dynamic activist was affectionately known as the Fundi, a Swahili word for a person who passes skills from one generation to another.
Contact: First Run Icarus Film (http://www.frif.com/cat97/f-j/fundi45.html)