Synopsis: Stunt women NOT SCREENED
Category Archives: Themes
Down and Out in America (1986)
57m; U.S.
Director: Lee Grant
Cast: Lee Grant, Jeff Farmer and Bob Hanson
Synopsis: Three sectors of American society hit by recession in the mid-1980s: heartland farms, factory workers out of a job, and the new homeless. In Minnesota, 250 family farms are being repossesed each week; men and women talk about their farms, the nature of their bank loans, the onslaught of corporate farming, and their sorrow and despair. In cities where 3,500 jobs per day go overseas, unemployed workers contemplate their options. The newly homeless talk about the jobs they’ve lost, “Justice Ville” in Los Angeles (bulldozed by court order), and squatting in New York’s abandoned buildings. A family living in a welfare hotel tells their story.
Down in Number 5 (2010)
18m; U.S.
Director: Kim Spurlock
Synopsis: Down in Number 5 is the story Carl Short, a terminally ill coal miner, who seeks refuge for his developmentally disabled son Sammy. Carl suffers from black lung, and when money from a class action lawsuit fails to materialize, he realizes his options are running out. Who will take care of Sammy after he is gone? Carl turns to Raymond Atkins, Sammy’s childhood friend and protector. But Raymond is now a middle-aged, single father overwhelmed by his own problems. Rooted in the Southern Gothic storytelling tradition, Down in Number 5 is a tender portrait of a man pushed to his limits for the love of his son and a haunting rumination on family and community in Appalachia. Based on a true story.
Contact: http://www.downinnumber5.com
Drifting Clouds (Kauas pilvet karkaavat) [1996]
96m; Finland
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Synopsis: Unemployment
Dubai: One City, Two Faces (2008)
29m; United Arab Emirates
Director: Ines Mendia
Synopsis: The documentary shows the underside of money in Dubai, a city where too much is never enough, and human rights are forgotten.
Contact: inesmendiaerror@yahoo.es 690607271 (Cell)
Experience Fenton (2000)
28m
Synopsis: Traces history of the Fenton Art Glass Company, emphasizing the importance of the relationship between the Fenton management and the glass workers who produce the products.
More information available at: http://www.fentonartglass.com/
Earl Robinson: Ballad of an American (1994)
60m; U.S.
Director: Bette Jean Bullert
Synopsis: This portrait aired on several major public television stations in the late 1990s. It captures the life and music of the composer of “Joe Hill,” “Black and White,” “Ballad for Americans” and other songs that convey the hopeful, progressive spirit of his generation. Rich in archival footage, this documentary includes performances of Robinson’s songs by Joan Baez, Frank Sinatra, Paul Robeson, Josh White, Three Dog Night, Peter, Paul & Mary, and of course, Earl himself. Judy Collins narrates.
Edge of the City (1957)
85m; U.S.
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier and Jack Warden
Synopsis: Two New York City longshoremen Axel Nordmann, an Army deserter and Tommy Tyler, an easy-going freight car loader whose growing friendship is threatened by Charles Malik, a notably repellent punk.
Educating Rita (1983)
110m; U.K.
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Cast: Michael Caine, Julie Walters and Michael Williams
Synopsis: A young wife decides to complete her education and take her exams. She meets a professor who teaches her to value her own insights while still being able to beat the exams. The change in her status causes friction between her and her husband.
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 