4TH ANNUAL DC LABOR FILMFEST
September 10-13, 2004

Schedule at a Glance

Friday September 10
7:30 PM
ROGER AND ME
15th Anniversary!
In his first film, Michael Moore (FAHRENHEIT 9/11) delivered a scathing critique of corporate America and a compelling indictment of the American dream gone astray at the end of the Reagan era. "Roger and Me" chronicles the impact (during the 1980s, 40,000 workers were laid off while profits soared) of General Motors plant closings on the working people of Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan. In this groundbreaking documentary, Moore's attempt to interview GM CEO Roger Smith becomes its own commentary on corporate (un)accountability.
Directed by Michael Moore. US, 1989, color, 91 min. documentary Website: Roger and Me


SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11
1 PM
MONDAYS IN THE SUN
Javier Bardem stars in this powerful story about shipyard workers in northern Spain. Laid off as a result of industrial restructuring and waterfront gentrification, the workers try to make ends meet and struggle to recover identities defined by work. Winner of five Goyas, including best picture, best director and best actor for Bardem.
Directed by Fernando Leon De Aranoa, Spain, 2002, color, 113 min. Website: Mondays in the Sun
Spanish with English subtitles. drama

3:15 PM
TAKE OUT
DC Premiere!
Q&A With Filmmakers After Screening
"Take Out" is a day in the life of Ming Ding, an illegal immigrant delivering Chinese takeout in New York. Ming has until the end of the day to make a payment to the smugglers who brought him to the United States. After borrowing from friends and family, he needs to more than double his average daily delivery tips to make the payment. "A deeply affecting portrayal of a struggling Chinese emigre." – Variety
Directed by Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker, US, 2004, color, 87 min. Website: Take Out
Mandarin, English, Spanish dialogue with English subtitles. drama

5:30 PM
HUMAN ERROR
DC Premiere!
Q&A With Filmmakers After Screening
Directed by Robert M. Young (ALAMBRISTA!), this quirky dark comedy features a mixture of live-action and computer-generated imagery. Two workers leave their families and homes behind for jobs in a strange factory that produces ambiguous toxic products. Pitted against one another by their scheming, insecure manager, the corporate slugs jockey for position within a decaying multinational conglomerate. "A post-industrial, pre-apocalyptic, existential comedy." Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Directed by Robert M. Young, US, 2004, color, 95 min. drama. Website: Human Error

8:00 PM
TELL US THE TRUTH
World Premiere!
Co-Sponsored by the AFL-CIO and American Income Life Insurance Company
Chronicling the 2003 fifteen-city musical and education tour challenging corporate media consolidation and raising awareness of global trade issues, "Tell Us the Truth" includes dramatic footage of the unprovoked police attacks on demonstrators to the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) meetings in Miami. Participating artists include Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Jill Sobule, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Janeane Garafolo, Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers, The Coup's Boots Riley, REM's Mike Mills, and Jenny Toomey, founder of the Future of Music Coalition.
Directed by Cecily Pingree and Gabriel Miller, US, 2004, color, 97 min. documentary Website: Tell Us the Truth Tour

Jill Sobule, Lester Chambers, Boots Riley and in Concert
2004 AFL-CIO Arts & Activism Awards Ceremony


SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 12
6:00 PM
BLIND SHAFT
BLIND SHAFT (Mang Jing) Every day, thousands of workers risk their lives in China's dangerous and often illegal mines. Song and Tang are two of them, but they have a plan to get ahead – one that involves murder and extortion. The simplicity and naivete of their intended victim, the young Luan, gradually alters the partners' relationship. And at the last minute, the two men's scheme takes an unexpected turn. Winner, Silver Bear, 2003 Berlin International Film Festival.
Directed by Li Yang, Germany/China, 2003, color, 92 min. Mandarin with English subtitles. Website: Blind Shaft


8:00 PM
BURN! (QUEIMADA!)
Newly restored to its full running length! Informed by historical fact, Burn!, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo (THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS), stars the late Marlon Brando as William Walker, a British agent who is sent to a Caribbean Island in 1845 to teach slaves the art of revolution against the Portuguese landowners. Though Walker's intentions are for the British to gain control, his plans are thwarted when the charismatic revolutionary leader he installed refuses to accept any sort of colonization.
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. Italy, 1969, color, 132 min. Italian with English subtitles.


MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13
7:30 PM
DO THEY CATCH CHILDREN TOO?
In Partnership with the Washington Jewish Film Festival
"I was born here, so if they catch me, will I be returned?" asks Ryan, a ten-year-old Filipino boy, after his father is arrested as an illegal worker in Israel. The film focuses on foreign workers' children, forced to deal with a complex reality that includes tough questions about their identity.
Directed by Hedva Galili-Smolinsky, Israel, 2003, color, 49 min. doc. Website: Do They Catch Children Too?

Screening Location: Washington DC JCC Aaron and Cecile Goldman Theater
1529 16th Street NW (corner of 16th and Q)

Ticket Information