Books and films

La Guerra Del Centavo / The war of the penny

The documentary recounts the daily lives of public transport drivers in the city of Bogotá, who do not receive a fixed salary and work for a percentage per passenger, which is colloquially known as "the war of the penny."

We, A History / Nosotros, una historia

This film is about the history of the workers’ movement in Ecuador. The workers themselves recount how the process of organization has been since the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

This Is My Country / Bayan ko: Kapit sa patalim

A documentary-style film that led its director, Lino Brocka, to imprisonment in his home country. The movie centers around the drama of a young typographical worker, Tuning, who becomes entangled in relationships with creditors, his comrades, and his pregnant wife.

Haisiyat

Ram is a union leader, and Jaya is a factory owner. Their indirect, cross-class dialogue doesn’t work, but a chance meeting sparks a romance.

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

In 1984, during the miners' strike against the Thatcher government, Ken Loach and cinematographer Chris Menges drove around Britain in a van and, in four days, with the camera on their shoulders, filmed the protests of the miners and their families, their songs, their poems. Censored by the TV that had produced it, it was broadcast months later on…

The Killing Floor

The era of World War I. A poor Black man from the South travels through the northern United States, hoping to find work in the slaughterhouses.

Rocking the Boat

A film covering 12 years of struggle by the men and women of the upper reaches of the Clyde, spanning dramatic footage of the UCS occupation of 1971-72 and an investigation into what happened to the workers and communities involved in the struggles of UCS and Govan shipbuilders to prevent closures and protect communities.

Seeing Red

Silkwood

Based on true events, this social drama tells the story of Karen Silkwood, a woman from a small town who worked at a plutonium processing plant. The plant's management cuts costs at every corner, recklessly endangering the health and lives of its workers.

The Last Pullman Car

ASSEMBLY LINE / LINHA DE MONTAGEM

Documentary about the strikes taking place in São Bernardo do Campo, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, circa 1979/1980. That moment was of utmost importance, since it revealed a Union leader, Luís Inácio "Lula" da Silva, who later was to become the President of Brazil.

Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ

The plot takes place in a fictional Roman colony in North Africa during the 1st century BC. The ruler of Rome, the all-powerful Caesar, has come to relax in the city of Rahat Lukum.

The Eyes

The story begins in Bengal, 1975. Workers at a jute factory in Kolkata are ruthlessly exploited, and attempts at protest are swiftly suppressed.

Miles of Smiles, Years of Trouble

We Dig Coal: A Portrait of Three Women

They Don't Wear Black Tie / Eles Não Usam Black-tie

Union leader's son doesn't want to engage in a strike, because his wife is pregnant, thus disregarding his father's tradition of political activism.

Man of Iron / Człowiek z żelaza

A continuation of the story from the film "Man of Marble" (Poland, 1977), focusing on the characters who became involved in the historic events of August 1980, when the workers' strike at the Gdańsk shipyard sparked a wave of strikes across the country and led to the creation of the Solidarity trade union. The film was directed by Andrzej Wajda, who…

So That You Can Live

A documentary filmed over five years showing the impact on one family in a South Wales valley community of developments in the national and global political economy, including local pit and factory closures. The film grew out of Cinema Action’s work with workers and trade-union activists during a women’s strike for equal pay.

The Willmar Eight

The Willmar 8 were eight female employees of the Citizens National Bank in Willmar, Minnesota, USA who went on strike on December 16, 1977 over charges of sex discrimination.

A Luta do Povo / The People’s Struggle

Starting with the burial of the worker Santo Dias da Silva, the film addresses the workers’ movement between 1978 and 1980; movements such as the Movement against High Prices, the Favela Movement, the Health Movement, the Struggle of the Squatters of the Ribeira Valley, the First of May of 1979, the strike of the metalworkers of São Bernardo do Campo…

Gaijin – Os Caminhos da Liberdade / Gaijin - The Paths to Freedom

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of Japanese people came to Brazil to work on a coffee farm in São Paulo . There, they encountered difficulties adapting, as they were treated with hostility, forced to work almost like slaves , and robbed by the boss.

A Wives' Tale / Une histoire de femmes

A film about the women who supported the 1978 miners strike against Inco, the multinational which owned the nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario. As the women became increasingly involved in the strike, they questioned more and more their traditional supportive role.

Seetha Ramulu

A remake made for the Telugu-speaking audience of Indian cinema, this film is based on Kanavan Manaivi (Husband and Wife, 1976), originally created for Tamil viewers. Ramu is a union leader, and Sita is the owner of a factory.

Numax presenta...

A documentary that describes the self-management experiment carried out by the workers of the Numax appliance factory, in response to the owners’ attempt to shut it down irregularly.

En vecka som skakade Öresundsvarvet

A week that shook the Öresund shipyard: by its end, the shipyard is closed and 3,500 workers have been dismissed. The process took almost two years.

A Question of Leadership

The film focuses on the discussion of the new situation that arose in the British labor movement after the defeat of the 13-week national steelworkers' strike of 1980, which was the first in the industry after a 50-year hiatus and led by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC). The unions were unprepared to confront the aggressive anti-labor…

9 to 5

Three frustrated secretaries — Judy, Doralee, and Violet — decide to get rid of their obnoxious boss by faking his death and placing him under house arrest. Seizing the moment, they implement a completely new order at work, one that benefits each of the employees.

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

Rafferty

Set in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s, Deputy Head of the Transport Workers' Union Jack Rafferty testifies before a government commission regarding corruption allegations. He could invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination, but if he does, he must say goodbye to his prospects of becoming the union chairman.

Arms Crossed, Machines Stopped / BRAÇOS CRUZADOS, MÁQUINAS PARADAS /

Three slates vie for leadership of the Metalworkers' Union of São Paulo, the largest in Latin America, with 300,000 members, and chaired by a "pelego" (aligned with the bosses), since the military coup of 1964. Amid election, hatch the first workers' strikes that would change the country.