What drives the global economy? This diverse collection of five films uncovers the connections between the experiences of women on a local level to broader economic patterns worldwide. From sex work to sustainable wages, these films tackle some of today’s most relevant issues and highlight the ways women are mobilizing to make changes in their lives.
Category Archives: Themes
491 (1964)
101m
Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Synopsis: A number of shorts about class conflict, portrait of working class youth in Sweden in the 1960s.
6 Weeks of Solidarity (1995)
9m
Director: Victor Dobchuk
Synopsis (CLiFF): A look at the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, 75 years later.
The $5.20 an Hour Dream (1980)
104m; U.S.
Director: Russ Mayberry
Cast: Linda Lavin, Richard Jaeckel, and Nicholas Pryor
9 Star Hotel (2006)
78m; Israel
Director: Ido Haar
Palestinian men build luxury condominiums by day, and hide in makeshift tents to avoid the authorities at night
A Civil Action (1998)
115m; U.S.
Director: Steven Zaillian
Cast: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy
The families of children who died sue two companies for dumping toxic waste: a tort so expensive to prove, the case could bankrupt their lawyer.
A Corner in Wheat (1909)
14m; U.S.
Director: D.W. Griffith
Synopsis: A greedy tycoon decides, on a whim, to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing the grain’s producers into charity lines and further into poverty. The film continues to contrast the ironic differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
Ira H. Gallen Video Resources 220 West 71st Street NYC 10023 (212) 724 – 7055
A Crushing Love: Chicanas, Motherhood and Activism (2009)
58m; U.S.
Director: Sylvia Morales
Chronicles the achievements of five Latina/Chicana activisits, including the labor organizer/farm worker Dolores Huerta
Contact: Sylvia Morales smorales@lmu.edu
A Day’s Work, A Day’s Pay (2001)
57m; U.S.
Director: Kathy Leichter & Jonathan Skurnik
Tracks three welfare-recipients’ involvement in New York’s controversial Work Experience Program (WEP), the largest welfare-to-work transition program in the United States.
Contact: To order a copy of “A DAY’S WORK, A DAY’S PAY” call 1-888-367-9154, log on to http://www.newday.com, or write: New Day Films, 22-D Hollywood Avenue, Hohokus, NJ, 07432. Price to Purchase: $240 for universities; $89 for non-profits. Price to Rent: $60
A Kind of Loving (1962)
112m; U.K.
Director: John Schlesinger
A young man (Alan Bates), inching his way up from working-class traditions via a white-collar job, finds himself trapped by the frightening reality of his girlfriend’s (June Richie) pregnancy and is forced into marrying her and moving in with his mother-in-law due to a housing shortage in their Northern England town.
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 