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LATEST
NEWS
REPORT FROM
DUBLIN
Organizing A Dublin Labor
FilmFest
By
Chris Garlock
(10/17/08) Nearly 600 Dublin-area
healthcare workers filled the Mansion House –
headquarters for Dublin’s Lord Mayor and the
site of many historic Irish labor and
independence gatherings -- for a DC Labor
FilmFest-sponsored screening of Ken Loach's It's
A Free World Thursday afternoon. The
screening was hosted by the Services Industrial
Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) Dublin
Health Services Branch to kick off its 2008
regional conference. The film, which had its
North American premiere at the 2007 DC
Labor FilmFest, is a gripping drama showing
the human impact of agency workers –
temporary workers, usually foreign nationals
with few rights or protections -- which is one
of the burning issues facing unions in Ireland, as elsewhere in
the world. I was very pleased to report to the
assembled union members and leaders that my
meeting with the Irish Film
Institute earlier Thursday had gone
very well and that a Dublin Labor FilmFest as
early as 2009 looks very possible, perfect
timing to help celebrate the union's 100th
anniversary. A Dublin Labor FilmFest would join
a small but growing network of labor-themed
film festivals around the world, as union
movements look to tap into the power of movies
to reach new audiences as well as existing
members.
2008 LABOR FILMFEST
WRAPS MAIN
SCHEDULE
(10/13/08)
"Thanks so much for bringing these films to
DC!” was a comment often heard at this
year’s DC Labor FilmFest, which wrapped up
the main schedule over the weekend at the AFI
theater in Silver Spring. Hundreds turned out
for the annual film festival featuring films
about work and workers from around the world.
Large and appreciative crowds - nearly 1,000
people, many first-time attendees
- turned out for the screenings,
and especially enjoyed Saturday afternoon’s
screening of the 1928 classic The
Crowd with live organ accompaniment and
Note By Note with Q&A afterward
with director Ben Niles, which drew rave
reviews as filmgoers lined up to buy DVDs
signed by the director. Click
here for a photo album
from the Filmfest.
Photo by Chris
Garlock
Labor Films
Database
Click here to access a
searchable
database of over one thousand
labor-themed films.
Labor Filmfest Database
Click here to access a
searchable database
of labor film festivals
from around the world.