(Nathaniel Thomas McGill & Vincent Vittorio, 2013, 82 min) The positive impact of domestic manufacturing jobs on national and local economies in the face of declining employment in this sector.
http://theamericanmademovie.com/
Category Archives: Documentary
American Made Movie
Wisconsin Rising
(Sam Mayfield, 2013, 57 min)
Madison in 2011 was the testing ground as big money and power waited to see how far they could push back people’s rights.
http://wisconsinrising.com/
Sam Mayfield <shirleymayfield@gmail.com>
Temple Grandin
(Mick Jackson, 2010, 107 min)
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin
Nachtschicht (Night Shift)
2011
Directed by: Timo Grosspietsch
Documentary Feature (65 minutes)
A butcher, a post office worker, a taxi driver, a nurse and a deejay are accompanied during their night in Hamburg. Documentary filmmaker and cameraman Timo Grosspietsch observes with his camera in such a way that involves the audience immediately. It is a quiet film that leaves room for the people portrayed and depicts their workplace in carefully composed images. It documents the tough daily life of those whose jobs nobody really wants to do anymore.
Mujeres Pa’lante [Women Moving Forward]
2012
Directed by: Tanja Wol Sorensen
Documentary Short (27 minutes)
There are more than 500,000 domestic workers living in Spain today. The large majority are migrant women from Latin American countries. Through the stories of three Latin American women living in Barcelona, we get an insight into the reality of being a migrant woman and a domestic worker in Spain today. Through their own words, we learn about their motivations for crossing oceans to live in Catalonia, and why they choose to keep living outside of their native country. Despite the discrimination and abuse they experience, these women are actively trying to improve the rights and conditions for themselves and for others.
Money and Honey (2011)
Directed by: Jasmine Ching-Hui Lee
Documentary Feature (96 Minutes)
This is an Asian epic documentary on migrant workers spanning thirteen years. Director Jasmine first came into contact with Filipino caretakers in the Taipei nursing home, where her grandparents were under care. Living away from their loved ones, both the Filipino caretakers and the elderly residents suffer from homesickness. Stories of joy and sorrow take place between them. The Filipino caretakers are humorous. They comfort themselves by singing a self-mocking song, ‘No money, no honey’. Being a wife, a mother and a migrant worker, the Filipino women are smart. They know how to survive. And yet, the road home seems to grow longer and longer. What price do they have to pay for love and livelihood? Can their dreams ever come true?
The Machinists (2010)
Directed by: Hannan Majid and Richard York
Documentary Feature (52 minutes)
In the teeming city neighborhoods of Bangladesh, young women work 15 hour days. In dangerous and dirty conditions, they make high fashion clothes for Europe and the USA. Their children suffer, their parents suffer and yet they find the will to fight back and organize a union. These women just suffered the worst factory fire disaster since the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in NYC over 100 years ago. Over 112 killed in one fire, with 7 more only weeks later.
A Killer Bargain (2006)
Directed by: Tom Heinemann
Documentary Feature (57 minutes)
A Killer Bargain refers to the availability of cheap consumer goods, imported by Western companies, whose prices don’t reflect the human and environmental costs of their production. Consumers remain unaware of the conditions under which the goods they buy are produced. This film makes those connections shockingly clear. Would you buy that batik tablecloth if you knew the children making it were working with cancer-causing solutions everyday?
Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor
Directed by: Zahida Pirani
Documentary Short (21 minutes)
Judith: Portrait of Street Vendor is a short documentary that takes the audience on an intimate journey into the daily life of Judith, a street vendor from Guatemala who lives and works in New York City. Judith exposes the routine obstacles and struggles she and her fellow vendors face daily on the city’s streets and shows her community’s attempts to change their conditions as immigrants and workers. Shot in intimate observational style, the film also unveils Judith’s hopes for the future and her aspirations as a mother, worker and community organizer. Judith: Portrait of a Street Vendor is a compelling personal story about perseverance and access to the American Dream.
http://www.streetvendormovie.com
Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers from Both Sides of the Border (2013)
Directed by: Melinda Levin and Michael McPherson
Documentary Short (28 minutes)
This documentary short follows the lives of Ivan, an undocumented worker from Mexico and Arnold, a transitory laborer from New Orleans as they work on the day-laborer circuit during a time of economic recession in the U.S. Their stories highlight the struggles and internal racial tensions in this workforce disengaged from formal labor structures.
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 