INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

SEE THE FILM/READ THE BOOK:

The online labour solidarity site Labour Start has a few interesting promotions going on. First of all, following directly below, are references to two very exciting labour film sites.

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Union films and videos:‏
First of all, a very happy new year to all of you. 2010 promises to be an exciting year for LabourStart and I wanted to start things off by talking about union films and videos.

We're very pleased to be co-sponsoring the online labor film database together with the DC Labor Film Fest. This extraordinary resource includes no fewer than 1,465 union films and videos. I think it's a fantastic resource for trade unionists everywhere and we should all be grateful to Chris Garlock and the Washington DC Metro Labor Council for putting this together.

If you have videos to suggest for inclusion in this list, please send them on to cgarlock@dclabor.org .

We're also now co-sponsoring the online labor film festival site, now featuring thirty such festivals around the world -- featuring festivals in Argentina, Canada, Ireland, Korea, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA. You can help keep this list up-to-date and inclusive by emailing cgarlock@dclabor.org .

Attentive readers will have noticed that for the first time since 1998, LabourStart is not promoting a Labour Website of the Year competition. There are a number of reasons for our decision not to continue with this, and one of them is that we've been holding a very successful photo of the year competition -- and also that we're planning to launch a labour video of the year competition in 2010. Details coming soon.

I hope you've all had a good festive season and would like to encourage you to take a moment and make sure that you've sent out messages in support of all four of our current campaigns . Thanks!
Eric Lee

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And, like I said, see the film, read the book. Here's another item from Labour Start about a great new book on labour film.

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Union films - the book‏
Tom Zaniello is a living, walking encyclopedia of films about labour.

I heard him speak at a conference once, but it wasn't so much a speech as a high-speed tour through dozens of film clips, lovingly selected, all aiming to make a point.

I don't know anyone who knows more about cinema and the labour movement than he does.

And Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An expanded guide to films about labor is his, well, encyclopedia about the subject.

It's a 434 page guide to 350 labour films from around the world, ranging from those you’ve heard of — Salt of the Earth, The Grapes of Wrath, Roger & Me — to those you’ve never heard of but will fall in love with once you see them.

Zaniello describes all the films in detail, tells you whether they’re available for rental or purchase, and, if so, where.

Fiction and nonfiction, the films are about unions, labour history, working-class life, political movements, and the struggle between labour and capital.

Each entry includes critical commentary, production data, cast list, suggested related films, and annotated references to books and Web sites for further reading.

If you want to know more about labour films, buy this book.

And remember that every copy you purchase helps support LabourStart.
Thanks very much.
Eric Lee