race tension | THE LABOR FILM DATABASE

El Camino

‘El Camino’ follows the path of the anonymous migrant in search of the New World. The journey leads to exploitation and raises the questions of culpability and complicity of both society and of the immigrant who crosses the political line in the sand. Economic pressures from both sides of the border are catalysts for migration. Demands for cheap labor generate ‘illegal’ immigration, which has become the polarizing, hot button issue du jour. This parable is a metaphor for the reality faced by migrants arriving in strange, new lands every day.

Directed by: Raquel Tresvant

http://cargocollective.com/zeligfilms

Cesar’s Last Fast

25 Jun

In the summer of 1988 Cesar Chavez, then 61 years old, embarked on a water ¬only fast – a personal act of penance for not having done enough to stop growers from spraying toxic pesticides on farm workers. For more than a month no one, including Cesar, knew when he would eat again. Structured around dramatic never-before-seen footage, this film focuses on the story of how Chavez organized America’s poorest, least educated workers, built a movement that successfully challenged our nation’s powerful agribusiness, and launched the modern day Latino civil rights movement in the U.S. Motivated by Catholic social teaching, Chavez risked his life in pursuit economic justice for America’s most vulnerable workforce.

Directed by: Richard Ray Perez, Lorena Parlee

http://cesarslastfast.com/

Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers from Both Sides of the Border (2013)

21 Jan

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

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El Camino

Cesar’s Last Fast

Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers from Both Sides of the Border (2013)

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