Past Free Labor Film Screenings  

Below are films previously screened as part of the 2008 DC Labor Filmfest Free Screening Series.

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom
Screened February 22 
The Attorney General of the United States called him "the most dangerous Negro in America." He forced President Roosevelt to integrate the armed forces, won the first-ever contract for a Black union and was the moving force behind the historic 1963 March on Washington. In celebration of Black History Month, the DC Labor FilmFest will show the 1996 documentary "A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom."

An Injury to One (2003, 53m)
Screened September 26
Provides a corrective—and absolutely compelling—glimpse of a particularly volatile moment in early 20th century American labor history: the rise and fall of Butte, Montana. Specifically, it chronicles the mysterious death of IWW organizer Frank Little, a story whose grisly details have taken on a legendary status in the state. Director Travis Wilkerson draws a connection between the unsolved murder of Little and the attempted destruction of the town of Butte by the voracious Anaconda mining company. A unique film/video hybrid that combines painterly images, incisive writing, and a bold graphic sensibility to produce an articulate example of the aesthetic and political possibilities offered by filmmaking in the digital age. (Icarus Films)

At The River I Stand (1994, 58m)
Screened January 25
Documents the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike and the historical forces which came together with the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. Special screening in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Introduced by AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) President Bill Lucy, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike documented in the film.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2002, 83m)
Screened June 24 & June 27
A vivid drama, intermingling the personal and the political, about one of the most enigmatic figures in 20th-century American history. One of the first "freedom riders," an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the march on Washington, intelligent, gregarious and charismatic, Bayard Rustin was denied his place in the limelight for one reason - he was gay. "Brother Outsider" contributes a fascinating new chapter to our understanding of both progressive movements and gay life in 20th-century America. Click here for more on the film. Special screening in honor of Pride Month.

Children in the Fields (2007, 11m)
Screened August 22
Children In The Fields reveals the real cost of child labor in our nation’s fields and farms: deaths and injuries for kids as young as 10; increased school drop-out rates; exploitation of immigrant families and undermining of wages. Farmworkers and their children – who are legally permitted to work as young as 12 – are exempted from outdated federal labor laws that were enacted almost 70 years ago.

City of Cranes (2008, 14 min) 
Screened September 19 & 25
High above the bustling, noisy streets of London, crane operators work in a solitary, almost eerily quiet environment far removed from the world below their feet. The recent crane accidents in New York City have drawn attention to the often forgotten crane operators who help build our cities, and City of Cranes takes viewers on a visually stunning journey into their world. Click here for more on the film.

eDump (2007, 20m)
Screened July 25
Hi-tech's dirty little secret is millions of tons a year of electronic waste, or e-waste, most of which ends up in places like China, India and Nigeria where the poor eke out a dangerous living melting down components as they breath in poisonous fumes. Journalist Michael Zhao's camera reveals what happens to our discarded laptops and celphones and the staggering, horrific cost in health and environmental damage. Click here to watch the film.

Fired! (2007, 70m)
Screened April 16 & September 11
Getting fired by Woody Allen was just the beginning for actress Annabelle Gurwitch, who Barbara Ehrenreich says "transformed her misery into a hot and sour chicken soup for the laid off soul."  Trying to cope with being fired by a cultural icon, Gurwitch discovered she wasn't alone and brings us side-splitting tales of being fired from Tim Allen, Felicity Huffman, Jeff Garlin and more, as well as the less-humorous aspects of job insecurity that include attending job fairs, career retraining classes, outplacement workshops and meeting with human resource directors.

The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut (2006, 52m)
Screened October 10
In April 1832, 57 young Irishmen left the port of Derry in search of a better life in America. Landing in Philadelphia they found work building one of the new world's earliest stretches of railroad. A mere six weeks later, all 57 men were dead, buried in an unmarked mass grave in a valley known today as Duffy’s Cut. Equal parts ghost story, archeological adventure and labor history, The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut reveals the true story of the men who are said to haunt this stretch of the American railroad - an extraordinary story of exploitation, bigotry, neglect and the dark side of the American Dream. Click here for more on the film.

Grassroots Rising (2005, 56m)
Screened May 7 & May 30
An evocative exploration of Asian Pacific Islander working families in Los Angeles.  The film weaves together powerful interviews and live action footage with moving labor murals and a lyrical narration by spoken word artist Alison de la Cruz and the voices of low wage Asian immigrants at the forefront of worker-led movements to build a just community in Los Angeles.  Grassroots Rising shares stories from a sprawling multilingual Los Angeles that is the sweatshop capital of the United States and the home for several of the largest Asian communities outside of their home countries. From Thai garment workers to restaurant and supermarket workers in Koreatown and Pilipino home healthcare workers, the working families in Grassroots Rising are not passive victims, but instead are reshaping the city through their activism.

If Stone Could Speak (2007, 60m)
In Washington, a city overflowing with stone buildings, monuments and carvings, this story of stonecutters has a special resonance. Thousands of Italian stonecutters emigrated to the United States and the documentary follows the artisans from the quarries, workshops and schools in Italy to the granite carving sheds in New England. The workers created new communities here shaped by their skills, families and class consciousness, while retaining strong ties to the old country. Through their eyes we see their handiwork all around us, as well as discover their life and death struggle with silicosis caused by their work.

The Internationale (2006, 30m)
Screened September 26
Exploring relationships between music, history and social change, The Internationale is a serious but often irreverent meditation on idealism, socialism, and the power of music in people’s lives. The film chronicles the history of the stirring song written in 1871, at the fall of the Paris Commune, by Eugene Pottier. The lyrics are a rallying cry for all the oppressed and exploited people of the world to rise up and overthrow their masters. After a melody was added a few years later by a French factory worker, Pierre Degeyter, The Internationale spread throughout France, Europe and the world. The film includes performances and interviews with musicians and activists from around the world, including Billy Bragg and Pete Seeger, drawing on people’s stories of an emotionally charged radical song (the long-time anthem of socialism and communism) to celebrate the relationship between music and social change, and to evaluate the uncertain fate of once thriving movements of the left. Using rare archival footage, the film traces the development and meanings of the song before and after the Russian Revolution, during the Great Depression in the U.S. and the Civil War in Spain, and since the fall of the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square, and the end of the Cold War.

The Job (2008, 3 min)
Screened September 19 & 25
The world of labor relations turns upside down in this short comedy about the issues faced by day laborers in the US. Winner of a 2007 Audience’s Choice Award at the DC Shorts Film Festival. Click here for more on the film.

Mother Jones: America's
Most Dangerous Woman (2007, 23 min)
Screened March 14, 26, & 28 & April 16
Mother Jones: America's Most Dangerous Woman is a new 23 minute documentary about the amazing labor heroine, Mary Harris Jones, known as Mother Jones. The documentary shows how Mother Jones' organizing career influenced the history of early 20th century United States.  Featuring historian Elliott Gorn, leading biographer of Mother Jones, it shows how Mother Jones used class and gender boundaries to shape an identity that allowed her to become an effective labor organizer in the early 20th century. Mother Jones transformed personal and political grief and rage into an effective persona that led workers into battles that changed the course of history.  The documentary evokes the terrible conditions and labor oppression that motivated her to traverse the country, mobilizing thousands to fight back. A moving "music video" of the "Ludlow massacre," focusing on  her role in those events brings to life a forgotten vista of brutalities that faced immigrant laborers in the United States in the previous century.  The film uses authentic photographs and live footage, including the only known film of Mother Jones on her deathbed, proclaiming that she is still a "radical" and "longs for the day when labor will have the destination of the nation in her own hands."

The Planning Lady (2007, 9 min)
Screened September 19 & 25
Candice, an elementary student, is confused about her future career until she sits down with her school guidance counselor, who helps Candice realize her dream career path and, in the process, teaches her guidance counselor an important lesson about keeping dreams alive. A light-hearted comedy that reminds us that there is no age limit on the age-old question of what we want to be when we grow up. Selection for the 2008 DC Shorts Film Festival. Click here for more on the film.

Ralph Fasanella: Painter a
of Working Class People (2007, 3:44m)
Fasanella (1914-1997) was a former union organizer and self-taught painter who produced colorful masterpieces that powerfully capture America's working class culture in the early to mid 20th century. His work uniquely showcased the life and look of urban organized labor, including local lodge meetings, strike lines, and factory floors. Controversial for its time, Fasanella's work made bold social statements bluntly advocating for civil rights and encouraging women to become labor leaders. In this web news video clip, Machinists Union video producer John Lett explores Fasanella through his artwork and interviews with family and friends.

Sicko (2007, 123m)
Screened April 25 & June 1
Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Moore applies his usual sharp-edged satirical style to America's dysfunctional healthcare system, using humor to tell compelling stories of everyday people faced with extraordinary and bizarre challenges in their quest for basic health coverage. More than just a film, the documentary has become a stunningly effective organizing tool as healthcare advocates have used it as to enrage, educate and mobilize activists across the country. Special screening in conjunction with the AFL-CIO Health Care Campaign's Spring Lift-Off Action Plan, with hundreds of Labor Councils nationwide focusing on this issue during the month of April.

That's Why I'm Working (1999, 53m)
Screened August 22
That's Why I'm Working follows families in the slums of Dacca, Bangladesh who are so poor that any income, even the pittance paid to children, is necessary for survival. Many children in the slums work in the "hidden child labor" circuit, serving as domestics, collecting recyclables, or working in cottage industries, often earning no more than room and board. Employers prefer children aged 8 to 12; they are old enough to work seriously and too young to protest miserable conditions. Today's child laborers are tomorrow's uneducated adults. In 1996, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) started a 3-year primary course for Dacca's disadvantaged. The small schools are free, and provide a first step away from the vicious cycle of poverty. That's Why I'm Working focuses on Ebrahimpur 3, a school at the edge of a slum in Dacca, Bangladesh. The film follows the children through their 3-hour school day and to their world outside school. At home and work, they behave almost like adults, fully aware of the importance of their contribution to the family income. Speaking in their own words, the children relate their worldviews, sharing their worries but also their dreams for the future. - Icarus Films

Women Organize! (30 min)
Screened April 18
Women Organize! is an inspirational, half hour video that portrays women organizers across the U.S. who are involved in the global struggles for racial, social, and economic justice.

What Would the Drop Know About That? (2007, 13 min)
Screened September 19 & 25
In the halls of the Reichstag, Germany’s historic parliament building, immigrant office cleaners work in the shadows. The workers tirelessly clean the floors, windows, and offices of the building everyday in preparation for tomorrow’s endless stream of tourist visits, high-level political meetings, and government employees. But Zabeil’s short documentary is more than a fascinating portrait of the invisible work of office cleaners. Overlaying beautiful, sweeping shots of workers on the job with interviews of cleaners, Zabeil gives voice to the workers’ views on class, politics, and their place in German society and, in the process, humanizes a largely marginalized workforce. Winner of the 2008 SILVERDOCS Sterling Award for a Short Film. Click here for more on the film.

With a Stroke of the Chaveta (Con El Toque De La Chaveta) (2008, 28m)
Screened October 3
While cigar makers sat in rows at wooden tables, skilled fingers rolling moist leaves of tobacco, the lector read to them. Words rolled off the lector’s tongue, resonating throughout the factory as together, tabaqueros and lectores traveled to the Spain of Don Quixote, the France of Victor Hugo, and the Cuban battlefield of Antonio Maceo. They followed the debates between anarchists and socialists, as well as the local baseball scores. Sometimes they laid down their tools—chavetas and books—and walked out of the factories to demand their rights. The reader's voice is no longer heard in most places. But in Cuba, cigar makers defend their tradition of 'la lectura' with pride. Through 'la lectura' cigar workers were entertained, educated, and developed a sense of class solidarity.

The Worst Job in the World (2007, 28m)
Screened September 12
Meet Bezedawa Wilson, who cleans latrines – by hand – in India. Picking up human excrement with his bare hands is the caste-defined occupation for him and a million other “Untouchables” in India. While director Jens Pedersen does not flinch from turning his camera on “the most disgusting job on earth,” he goes beyond the ugliness of the work to discover the humanity and dignity of those who must scrape up what we all leave behind. As we meet these workers – many of them women whose colorful saris belie their filthy work – we discover why they cling to this awful work, and how many of them are organizing to improve their working conditions, sometimes by taking to the streets in a ”liberation movement for toilet-cleaners” and demolishing the very latrines on which their jobs depend. Click here for more on the film.