20 May, 2010Documentary on Turkish women workers' struggle features at Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival 2010, which brings the voices of workers to light in the face of the financial crisis.
GENEVA: The fourth annual Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival - by, for and about unions and working people - tells workers' stories of confronting the challenges caused by the extreme imbalance in power between the transnational corporate elite and working people.
Among other issues, the current financial crisis takes centre stage in this year's line-up of 15 shorts, primarily focusing on the voices of workers and their unions: their struggles and triumphs. From the conditions of ship-breaking workers in Bangladesh and the atrocities afflicted on farm workers in Zimbabwe, to the struggle of independent truck drivers in the United States, the programme includes a diverse blend of film shorts. The festival brings into view compelling stories of workers from around the world, occasionally using comedy or tragedy to grab the attention of viewers. Full details of the line-up of shorts will be released in June
The main feature presentation, Like a Bird in a Cage, begins with the resistance of Emine Arslan, a Turkish female textile worker fired from the Desa Safaköy factory as a result of her union activities. Directors Güliz Sağlam and Feryal Saygılıgil document the subsequent resistance of the women workers at Desa. The documentary reveals the working conditions of women, the experience they gain through organizing, the advantages of their resistance, their relationship with the union and their hopes and expectations.
This event is organized by the Global Union Communicator's Task Force, led by the International Metalworkers' Federation and representing all global union federations, the International Trade Union Confederation and TUAC.
WHAT: Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival
WHERE: Grütli Theatre, Rue du General-Dufour 16, Geneva
WHEN: June 15 from 20h00 to 22h00, open reception at 19h00
Subtitles in English and French
Admission is free.
For further information please see here or visit the festival website at: http://www.labourfilmshorts.org/