Books and films

Friends & Enemies

A film about defeat. A thousand workers rose up against the Southeast Queensland Electricity Board (SEQEB) management’s introduction of a new employment contract.

Clotario Blest

A life story and account of the struggles of the emblematic union leader (1899–1990), founder of the National Association of Public Employees (ANEF) and the first president of the Unified Workers’ Central (CUT). Inspired by Christian values, he renounced both his calling to the priesthood and romantic love in order to dedicate himself to union work.

Çark / Cogwheel

In the history of Turkish cinema with his scenario, which starts in the glass workshop and continues in the shipyard and extends to the leather workers with medieval workplace . the first pure workers He is considered one of [ 3 ] The director Muzaffer does not at all, but even though he was reluctant to shoot the film, he then gives up his idea and…

Business As Usual

The film is based on real events. An assistant manager at a boutique stands up for her employee, who is being sexually harassed by the store owner.

Comrades

This is the true story of six agricultural workers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, who, in 1834, formed a union bound by secret oaths and "intimidating" rituals. At the time, such oaths and rituals were considered a crime in England.

Matewan

The film is based on real and bloody events that took place in the town of Matewan, West Virginia, in 1920 during a strike by local miners at The Stone Mountain Coal Company, leading to a tragedy known in history as the "Matewan Massacre." The film's tagline: "It takes more than guns to kill a man."

10 Days... 48 Hours

After a six-month strike, the trawlers are once again heading out from Bonavista, bound for fishing grounds on the Grand Banks. In 10 days they will return with their catch ...

Act of Vengeance

A historical film where regional trade union leader Joseph Yablonski accused UMWA president Tony Boyle of corruption and undermining democracy. In 1969, Yablonski challenged Boyle for the presidency of the international union but was defeated.

The Real thing

In February 1984, the owners of a Coca-Cola plant (located about 10 minutes from downtown Guatemala City) informed its workers that, due to bankruptcy, the plant would close the next day. But the 460 workers refused to accept the loss of their jobs and the loss of their union, for which they had fought so hard and which had become one of the strongest…

The Life of Klim Samgin , The Sunday - episode 8

This series presents events in Saint Petersburg during the mass strike organized by the Assembly of Factory and Plant Workers. It is interesting how Gapon's character is portrayed, as well as the depiction of the events of Bloody Sunday in 1905.

Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks

This docudrama, based on eyewitness accounts and court materials, tells the story of a 13-year saga (1949-1962) involving Harold Banks, a representative of the International Seafarers Union in Canada. Banks arrived in the country with the mission to eliminate communists from labor unions around the Great Lakes.

Final Offer

The film depicts the hard and complex collective negotiations in 1984 between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and General Motors. As a result, the Canadian branch of the UAW secured the best conditions for its members while simultaneously withdrawing from the multinational union.

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.