John: It’s May Day and the 2022 DC Labor FilmFest is back in-person! We open tonight with a screening of the gloriously restored 1979 film THE WOBBLIES, about the union that organized unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. Co-director Deborah Shaffer will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening at AFI Silver.
Tomorrow Chelsea Bland, president, Metro DC Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) will introduce our screening of the great labor classic UNION MAIDS, which also shows with THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT, both directed by Julia Reichert.
And on Tuesday check out our free screening of LOCAL 1196: A STEELWORKERS STRIKE, with a post-film Q&A with director Samuel George (note that this screening is at the Goethe-Institut Washington’s new location).
Full details on these and the rest of the LaborFest/Labor FilmFest schedule are below. NOTE: Proof of vaccination –or– negative Covid PCR test required for entry. Masks required.
I'm looking forward to seeing you at LaborFest 2022!
Chris Garlock, Director |
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THE WOBBLIES
Sunday, May 1, 5:30p
AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910
INFO/TICKETS
Opening Night of the 2022 DC Labor FilmFest; Q&A with filmmaker Deborah Shaffer!
"Solidarity! All for one and one for all!" Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into "one big union" and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or "The Wobblies," as they were known) tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay and safer working conditions. In some respects, men and women, Black and white, skilled and unskilled workers joining a union and speaking their minds seems so long ago, but in other ways, the film mirrors today's headlines, depicting a nation torn apart by corporate greed. Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird weave history, archival film footage, interviews with early IWW members (by then in their 80s and 90s), cartoons, original art and classic Wobbly songs (many written by Joe Hill) to pay tribute to the legacy of these rebels who paved the way and risked their lives for the many of the rights that we still enjoy today. Restored by the Museum of Modern Art and recently inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
(Note courtesy of Kino Lorber.) DIR/PROD Deborah Shaffer, Stewart Bird. U.S., 1979, color, 89 min. NOT RATED |
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NEW: CLICK HERE for the complete 2022 DC LaborFest program guide! |
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CLICK HERE NOW to be entered in a raffle for free passes to Sunday's Opening Night screening of "The Wobblies" with filmmaker Deborah Shaffer! |
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COMING UP MONDAY: Julia Reichert program
UNION MAIDS with THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT Introduced by Chelsea Bland, president, Metro DC Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
Mon, May 2, 7:00 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Tickets: bit.ly/DCLaborFilmFest2022
AFI Member passes accepted. AFI Member discount available for union members (must present union card). UNION MAIDS
Told through the eyes of three remarkable women, UNION MAIDS opens up one of the great untold stories in our history: the fight to form industrial unions in the first half of the 20th century. Stella, Sylvia and Kate — all humorous storytellers, in their 60s at the time of filming — reminisce about leaving their small farms for the promise of greater job opportunities in Chicago, where they eventually joined the battle for better conditions for factory workers in the early 1930s. Nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature. DIR/SCR/PROD Julia Reichert, Jim Klein, Miles Mogulescu. U.S., 1976, b&w, 48 min. NOT RATED
Followed by: THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
Two days before Christmas in 2008, the General Motors assembly plant in Moraine, Ohio, shut its doors. Two thousand workers and 200 management staff were let go and related businesses shuttered, resulting in thousands more displaced workers. But GM staffers lost much more than a job, including the pride shared in their work and camaraderie built over many years. Events captured in the film serve as an interesting harbinger of the cultural forces that some believe had a hand in carrying Donald Trump to the White House. Nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject. DIR/SCR/PROD Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar. U.S., 2009, color, 40 min. NOT RATED
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COMING UP TUESDAY
LOCAL 1196: A STEELWORKERS STRIKE
Plus speakers/Happy Hour!
Tue, May 3, 6:00p (doors open 5:30)
FREE, RSVP here
Goethe-Institut Washington, 1377 R St. NW Ste. 300, Washington, DC 20009
Jobs matter. Unions matter. In regions that vote red. In regions that vote blue. Yet, across the country blue collar workers are feeling ignored, and left behind. On May 3, join us for a new documentary film about what happens when one steel union choses to fight back. In March of 2021, the steelworkers of USW 1196 in Brackenridge struck, citing unfair labor practices. Over the next four months, “Local 1196” follows the steelworkers from late night conversations on the picket lines, to fiery debates at the union hall, to their living rooms as bills come due.
As the U.S. gears up for critical and contentious elections in 2022, this documentary offers powerful insight into blue-collar America – the challenges, the opportunities, the hopes and the fears, undermining many stereotypes along the way.
Join the DC Shorts International Film Festival, the Goethe-Institut, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the DC LaborFest and the Oberlin College Club of Washington, DC for this film screening event and post-film happy hour. |
Celebrate Asian American Heritage Month
with Free Online Labor Film Screenings April 24th-May 4th
The DC Labor FilmFest has teamed up with the Workers Unite Film Festival and other labor film festivals worldwide to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with free online screenings of labor films starting on Sunday, April 24th (10am EST) through Wednesday, May 4th (10pm EST). All the films are available worldwide free on-demand; you only need to create a free login on Eventive if you don't already have one. CLICK HERE to pre-order now!
Hosted by Workers Unite Film Festival. Co-sponsored by DC Labor FilmFest, Dublin Labour Film Festival, Rochester Labor Film Series, LaborFest International Working Class Film and Video Festival (San Francisco), Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival (Santa Cruz), Labor Film Night at the Socialist Labor Party Hall (Vermont), and the London Labour Film Festival.
Happy Cleaners - An immigrant story of a Korean American family struggling to run a dry cleaning business in Flushing, Queens. Follow the Choi family as they confront their individual struggles, cultural clashes, and generational divide all while trying to keep their failing family business afloat. (2019, 1 hr 36m, Directed by Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee) (Tix) (Trailer)
Call Taxi - Jason gets in a Korean taxi to catch a 6:30 AM flight from JFK. To his surprise, his father is the driver. A conversation that should have happened years ago occurs between the two men. (2016, 18m, Directed by Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee) (Tix) (Trailer)
Alone/Together - Artists, travelers, teachers, children, parents, and essential workers in eleven different countries - including Taiwan, Japan, China, and Malaysia - struggle and persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic. (2022, 40m, Directed by Hsuan Yu Pan) (Tix) (Trailer)
One Generation’s Time: The Story of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes - On June 1,1981, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, two reform officers in Seattle’s Alaska Cannery Workers’ Union, Local 37 of the (ILWU), were gunned down as they worked in the union offices. The men were attempting to reform the union and were calling for better working conditions in the canneries. On the surface, their murders were meant to look like just another gang-related slaying. But later, the killings were revealed to be a hit originating from the Marcos regime. Silme and Gene’s friends, families and colleagues sought justice for the murders, and continued the fight for equality for the months and years to come. This touching and powerful film details the murders, the fight for fair labor conditions, the civil rights movement the murdered men helped foster, and the ensuing efforts to seek justice for their killings. (2013, 1 hr, Directed by Shannon Gee) (Tix) (Trailer)
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