Anna Burton
The first ever conference of labour film festival organisers took place in Washington last week, trying to kick start a worldwide labour film festival movement. The number of organisers attending from across the globe was a testament to the growing interest in this area of film-making.
Although these films do not formally constitute a distinct cinematic genre, it is easy to imagine that they could. Labour films, be they documentary, feature film or cinema shorts, are about celebrating social commitment through the medium of film, and the festivals help show the diversity and complexity of film’s treatment of labour and working people, both locally and globally. The films tell entertaining and heartfelt stories of working people that are as vital for us to see today as ever before.
It was quite something listening to the peoples stories of organising labour film festivals. With projects running across North America and Europe, the level of commitment and creativity on display is really uplifting.
