18m; Switzerland
Director: Paul Williams, Kristyne Peter & Anita Gardner
Synopsis: The Mexican miners’ struggle for union independence.
Contact: Kristyne Peter, International Metalworkers’ Federation, kpeter@imfmetal.org http://www.imfmetal.org
Tag Archives: Mining
An Injury to One (2002)
53m; U.S.
Director: Travis Wilkerson
Synopsis: History of copper miner organizing in Butte, Montana.
Contact: http://frif.com/new2003/inj.html
Appalachia: No Man’s Land (1981)
28m; U.S.
Synopsis: Filmed in Mingo County, WV. and Martin County, Ky, this documentary interviews the natives, organizers, and poets of Appalachia who were directly affected by coal mining in the area. Intereviews are inter cut with the scenes of destruction. Floods, black lung, and uncontrolled strip mining disasters resulted from the activities in the area and huge multinational corporations continue to be primary forces in the area. The postscript lists results of the arc land ownership study just published. Stars Wheeling Jesuit University president Rev. Hacala.
Asturian-US (2007)
52m;
Director: Luis Argeo; Chip Hitchcock
Synopsis: The town of Arnao (Asturias province, northern Spain) grew under the wing of the Royal Mining Company. After the closure of its mine and the limitations of its factory at the beginning of the 20th century, many of its employees immigrated to similar factories located far from the sea, at the foot of the mountains of West Virginia. Several new towns were created: Spelter and Anmoore. 90% of their population was Asturians. Luis Argeo traveled from Spain in spring 2006 to document the community with the assistance of Chip Hitchcock of WBPBS.
Contact: Luis Argeo” argeol@hotmail.com http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Luis+Argeo&search=Search
Joe Hill (1971)
117m; Sweden
Director: Bo Widerberg
Synopsis: A 1971 biopic about Swedish-American labor activist Joe Hill, born Joel Emanuel Hägglund in Gävle, Sweden. It was directed by Bo Widerberg and depicts Hill’s involvement with the Industrial Workers of the World(IWW) union, and his trial for murder during which he defends himself. It won the Jury Prize at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
The film has been unavailable commercially for many years, but a digitally remastered version is currently in preparation. It is due for release later in 2015.
Battlestar Galactica (“Dirty Hands”) [2007]
42m; U.S.
Director: Wayne Rose
Cast: Aaron Douglas, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell
Synopsis: Battlestar Galactica ran for four seasons on the SyFy network and is considered by many the best science-fiction television program yet created. Focusing on a fleet of human survivors from a mass genocide, the program explored all manner of personal and political issues. Among those was labor – in this episode from the third season one of the main characters restarts a union by becoming the leader of a strike on a mining ship. “Dirty Hands” explores several facets of labor, most interestingly how unions navigate their relationship to the government and their role in promoting social mobility.
Key Scene
Before the Mountain Was Moved (1966)
60m; U.S.
Director: Robert K. Sharpe
Synopsis: Story of Ellis Bailey, a retired miner, who led the citizens of Raleigh County to fight against unscrupulous strip mining companies and to obtain State legislation to regulate stripping in the name of environmental conservation.
Beneath Black Skies (2009)
Australia
Director: Sandra Pires
Synopsis: A history of coal mining in the Illawarra in Australia, including the 1887 strike at Old Bulli Colliery and Australia’s two most tragic and largest industrial disasters.
Contact: Sandra Pires, Director/Producer sandra@whydocumentaries.com.au Tel: 02 4285 3545 | Fax: 02 4285 7560 | Mob: 0418 452 088 http://www.beneathblackskies.com.au
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (1981)
59m; U.S.
Director: Ken Fink
Synopsis: New Yorker filmmaker Ken Fink made this film after interviewing hundreds of coal miners. He eventually interviewed members of three different generations – a retired miner, a black middle-aged miner, and a miner who tried to leave the mountains only to return. They give their attitudes toward their profession, often reflecting the deep frustrations involved with the industry. This film is partially funded by the Humanities Foundation of West Virginia and has been shown on WSWP TV. It was also shown at film festivals throughout the United States. A recent book, “Glass Castles” talks about these filmmakers coming to Welch, the county seat of McDowell County.
Contact: WVLC and Icarus Films
Black Fury (1935)
94m; U.S.
Director: Michael Curitz
Cast: Paul Muni,
Synopsis: An immigrant coal miner finds himself in the middle of a bitter labor dispute between the workers and the mine owners.
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 