Great article
Organizing a labor film event does seem like a tricky thing to do, but I'm sure it would certainly be an enjoyable thing to do for those of us who really love movies. Great article Chris!:D
All the best, Ryan
Putting Labor Films to Work
The Philosopher Kings, a film about custodians in colleges and universities.
Hey, organizers, let’s put on a show! Workers are using video to document and share their struggles, and filmmakers from every corner of the globe are addressing labor themes. Labor film festivals are emerging: 2009 will see no less than 14 screenings, from Montana to Dublin, Ireland, and from Cape Town, South Africa, to South Charleston, West Virginia. The timing is right for films about work and workers. Plus, everyone loves movies! They have an amazing power to bring people together, whether it’s lesbian activists mingling with straight union members at “Live Nude Girls Unite!”, about an organizing drive at a San Francisco strip club, or classical music fans rubbing shoulders with Liszt-loving hard hats at “Note By Note,” the story of the year-long making of a Steinway piano. As longtime labor film organizers in Washington, D.C., and Rochester, New York, we’ve been inspired by the surge of interest in organizing local film events. Throughout the year, activists stop us on the street or on picket lines to ask when the next film is or to suggest one to show. Sometimes they just want to share the impact that a film made on their lives. Often we hear that seeing a labor film helped a spouse, family member, or friend “to finally understand what I do.” Viewing labor films as a group builds the solidarity of shared experience. A festival that continues year after year builds a following, a community of moviegoers, friends, and sponsors who make the festival a regular feature of the cultural calendar. Labor film events come in many sizes and formats. Here are some issues to consider: Audience: Are you reaching out mainly to union members, to working people who may or may not have union cards, or to a mixed labor and general audience? One of the main advantages of a labor film event is to reach people who may not appreciate what unions actually are. Our experience is that about a third of the audience will be union members, another third film buffs, and the rest a general audience attracted to the particular film. Over 20 years, nearly 20,000 have attended the screenings in Rochester, while better than 10,000 have come to D.C.’s in the last eight years. Give $10 a month or more and get our "Fight the Boss, Build the Union" T-shirt. Coordination: Identify an organization and a lead individual to organize and sponsor the event. They will recruit partners and coordinate overall. Central labor councils are a natural starting place, as in both D.C. and Rochester. Type of Event: Is this a single screening? A festival, like the annual D.C. Labor FilmFest, which shows nearly two dozen films over an entire week? A series, like Rochester’s Labor Film Series, which screens one film a week over two months? Better to start small and grow your event over time. Venue: Will your screenings be in a union hall, a commercial or “art” theater, a campus auditorium, a museum? We prefer existing film institutions—like our partners the George Eastman House in Rochester or the American Film Institute in D.C.—because they are experienced at film selection and acquisition and can guide you through the unfamiliar world of film. While it’s possible to screen DVDs in a union hall, a movie theater is the best venue. That avoids copyright issues and brings in wider audiences. Film Selection: If you collaborate with a theater, you’ll be working with a programmer to select 35mm or 16mm films. Programmers can advise on film titles and work with distributors to book films. You may find it helpful to recruit a team to preview and select films. To check out our 2009 picks, visit AFL-CIO DC Metro Council and rochesterlabor.org. Publicity: Outreach is just like getting folks to a labor rally: get the word out early and often. A good way to build the audience is to give sponsoring locals free or reduced-price tickets. Working with partner institutions can bring coverage from entertainment reporters and publications. Developing these relationships yourself can often help you to get improved coverage of other labor events in the future. Costs: Your budget will include film rental and shipping, film projection, and printing of promotional materials. Another strong incentive to partner with an existing film institution is that it will likely share most costs, since your program will bring in paying audiences. Both the Rochester and D.C. film events are funded through support from sponsors, mostly local unions. Organizing a labor film event is easier than you think and can provide creative ways to build the labor movement in your community. It’s a space where workers’ issues and struggles can become visible once more. See you at the movies!MANY SIZES AND FORMATS
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is director of the DC Labor FilmFest.
co-curates the annual Rochester Labor Film Series.