The Workers Unite Film Festival is a celebration of Global Labor Solidarity and New York City's only labor film festival. The Festival aims to showcase student and professional films from the United States and around the world which publicize and highlight the struggles, successes and daily lives of all workers in their efforts to unite and organize for better living conditions and social justice. The organizers are deeply connected to and support both the American labor movement and the fight of all workers around the globe to achieve lives filled with respect for their rights and dignity on the job.
This is the 15th Annual Workers Unite Film Festival - NYC Celebrates Global Labor Solidarity! Our Festival is scheduled between the anniversary of the success of the "Bread and Roses" strike in Lawrence, MA., the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, a rallying point for organizing American workers and May Day, the international workers day of unity. The 15th Annual Workers Unite Film Festival will be held from October 23rd to November 5th, starting at the historic downtown Manhattan movie theater, Cinema Village, as well as other labor union and community group auditoriums throughout the city. The 15th Workers Unite Film Festival will also continue the tradition of screening the majority of our films virtually for followers around the country and the world.
We seek to join forces with our working brothers and sisters from around the world, both organized in existing unions and those currently fighting to organize for their workplace rights. Our goal is to broadcast our stories of struggle and victory around the mainstream media that often pretend that we - the 99%, count for less than the celebrities and corporate titans normally showcased in those mainstream media outlets.
We ask all workers, whether part of a union or part of the recent union survival struggles across the USA, to send us their stories. We will have categories for narrative and documentary films, from around the world and will have space to showcase student and professional levels of accomplishment in features, shorts (under 50 minutes) and "films from the front lines" (under 10 minutes).
We will hold special screening days for "Films From the Front Lines," for short films highlighting recent ant-union attacks across the USA and how American workers have successfully fought back. Frontline Films will also feature 6 minute short films from union members attending the Labor on Film classes at The Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies at SUNY Empire State University.
We plan to have special nights of short films and speakers on as many recent organizing drives as we can. We hope to link our recent struggles and victories in the USA to the global fight of all workers seeking justice, fairness and equality across all borders.
Two prizes are given in each category, for best of category and honorable mention.
