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Working Conditions (26)
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24 Days in BrooksDana Inkster 2007 42 minOver the course of a decade Brooks, Alberta, transformed from a socially conservative, primarily white town to one of the most diverse places in Canada as immigrants and refugees flocked to find jobs at the Lakeside Packers slaughterhouse. This film is a portrait of those people working together and adapting to change through the first-ever strike at Lakeside. -
Avenue ZeroHélène Choquette 2009 52 minHuman trafficking is a reality: Asian girls are enslaved in suburban massage parlors; domestic workers toil like slaves in suburban homes; girls in a Montreal subway station are lured into prostitution; Vancouver gangs recruit Honduran boys to sell drugs. Featuring candid interviews with victims, witnesses and perpetrators, Avenue Zero weaves a spellbinding portrait of a dark and sinister trade flourishing in the shadows of the law.
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Bombay CallingBen Addelman & Samir Mallal 2006 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary chronicles the lives of young call-centre workers in Bombay (Mumbai), India. The film profiles several characters who attempt to sell phone services to clients in the UK, showing both sides of globalization’s impact on India – the economic benefits as well as the break with tradition and loss of innocence. A compelling insider’s look at youth culture in India and the growing number of young people who choose to follow the American dream, Indian-style.
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The Back-breaking LeafTerence Macartney-Filgate 1959 29 minHere is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
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Black SugarMichel Régnier 1988 57 minThis feature documentary offers a shocking look at the living and working conditions of Haitian agricultural laborers in the Dominican Republic. Each year, some 20 000 workers cross the border to cut sugar cane, lured by promises of good money. Instead, they toil up to 14 hours per day and live in unhealthy, cramped camps without running water, electricity, medical or educational facilities.
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Cotton Mill, TreadmillDenys Arcand 1992 2 h 39 minEnglish subtitled version of a film showing factories' shutdown. Quebec textile workers organize themselves for better, healthier working conditions while the multinationals strenghten their empire.
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The Coca-Cola Case (Short Version)Germán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 52 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
The Coca-Cola CaseGermán Gutiérrez & Carmen Garcia 2009 1 h 25 minFor decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products.
These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye to the misdeeds brought to their attention. By following the relentless efforts of this unshakeable trio, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a fascinating legal road-movie, against a backdrop of denunciation campaigns claiming: Stop Killer Coke!
After five years of struggle, will Coca-Cola yield in the end? And on the verge of a settlement, what will the victims choose—cash, or power and integrity? -
Camera on Labour No. 4Alvin Goldman 1956 13 minNew Health Service for Garment Workers: Jointly operated by management and union, the Fashion Industries' Health Center in Montréal plays watchdog to the health of International Ladies' Garment Workers Union members through its free diagnostic service. Steelworkers Go to Press: An employee of the Stelco Steel plant in Hamilton, Cecil Lewis doubles as editor of a monthly union newspaper that keeps local members informed of union aims and activities.
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Day After DayClément Perron 1962 27 minA film produced in 1962 that looks at life in a small paper-mill town in Québec where most of the 6 500 inhabitants derive their livelihood from the one industry. Day after day, the same work, the same hours, the same machines, the same product, until the entire routine of living becomes but a reflection of the dominant routine of the mill. This is the film's theme as it probes to the very core of company-town life.
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The Emperor's New ClothesMagnus Isacsson 1995 53 minThis feature documentary focuses on the reality of life before, during, and after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the profound effects the economic agreements between big business and government can have on human lives.
Filmed over a three year period in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, this documentary poses a sobering question: In this global war of cut-rate economies, are people on the losing side? -
Emergency! A Critical SituationTahani Rached 1999 52 minShot at the Pierre Boucher Hospital in Montreal, this film takes us into the emergency room to see how our healthcare system is holding up. What it reveals is a powerful indictment of management that sees only the bottom line while human lives are at stake.
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The Hasty Man Drinks His Tea with a ForkSylvie Groulx 2003 1 h 23 minA blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.
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The LumberfrosStéphanie Lanthier 2010 1 h 11 minIn Abitibi, hundreds of kilometres from the city, thousands of workers go North, as did Jos Montferrand and François Paradis. Working as brush cutters, these 21st-century lumberjacks discover Quebec's boreal forest. Far from their families, they spend 5 or 6 months a year in logging camps that mirror a new Quebec, those of French-Canadian descent and neo-Quebecers from Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. All have come to earn a living in the forest. Filmmaker Stéphanie Lanthier invites us to spend an entire season inside this northern micro society. Using a direct cinema technique in the style of Pierre Perrault, she documents the lives of the brush cutters.
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My FatherDanic Champoux 2000 26 minThis short documentary is a tribute to the unknown father. Emerging filmmaker Danic Champoux poses the question "How many men still have to uproot themselves and leave their families to get work?" as he sets out to search for his own father. He wonders about these men who are labourers, itinerants, and mostly nameless, but who are all exemplary providers. But at what cost? This film was produced as part of the Libres Courts collection of first-time documentary shorts. It features seven films from seven filmmakers offering a fresh look at the world.
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NailsPhillip Borsos 1979 13 minThis documentary short tracks the shift in the relationship of an individual to his work between the 19th century and today. Focusing on how nails are made, we first see a blacksmith laboring at his forge, shaping nails from single strands of steel rods. The scene then shifts from this peaceful setting to the roar of a 20th century nail mill, where banks of machines draw, cut, and pound the steel rods faster than the eye can follow.
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Professor Norman Cornett: "Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?"Alanis Obomsawin 2009 1 h 20 minThis feature documentary by Alanis Obomsawin is a thoughtful tribute to Norman Cornett, a McGill University professor celebrated by scores of students appreciative of his unconventional yet powerful teaching methods who was controversially dismissed from his teaching duties in 2007.
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PaybackJennifer Baichwal 2011 1 h 25 minThis feature documentary based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth offers a fascinating look at debt as a mental construct and traces how it influences relationships, societies, governing structures and the fate of the planet itself. Exploring the link between debtor and creditor in a variety of contexts and places, from the mountains of northern Albania to the tomato fields of southern Florida, the film blends compelling stories of “owing” and “being owed” with the views of renowned figures like Karen Armstrong, Louise Arbour, William Rees and Raj Patel.
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The Riches of OthersMaurice Bulbulian 1973 1 h 34 minThis 1973 doc about social struggle draws a parallel between the exploitation of Quebec’s miners and mineral wealth and similar circumstances in Chile. The injustices inflicted on these men are condemned by both René Lévesque and Salvador Allende. The miners themselves are also given the opportunity to speak out. Richesse des autres offers 94 minutes of testimonies by Quebecers and Chileans on a situation that’s unanimously denounced.
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Still Waiting for JusticeNadine Valcin 2006 15 minThis short documentary is about an Aboriginal corrections officer who says he is the victim of workplace racial harassment. He has spent the last 18 years fighting a government institution for justice. Made as part of the Work For All project 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace.
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ShipbreakersMichael Kot 2004 1 h 12 minThis feature documentary profiles a bustling Indian shantytown where 40,000 people live and work in the most primitive conditions. Dismantling the rusting hulks of the world’s largest ships, the workers have no protection from injury or death. On average, one worker dies every day, some from explosions or falls, but many from cancers caused by asbestos, PCBs and other toxic substances. This visually stunning film vividly captures the haunting shells of decaying industrial machinery as well as the deplorable conditions of workers in 21st century global economics.
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A Time to RiseAnand Patwardhan & Jim Monro 1982 39 minOn April 6, 1980, the Canadian Farmworkers Union came into existence. This film documents the conditions among Chinese and East Indian immigrant workers in British Columbia that provoked the formation of the union, and the response of growers and labour contractors to the threat of unionization. Made over a period of two years, the film is eloquent testimony to the progress of the workers' movement from the first stirrings of militancy to the energetic canvassing of union members.
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The UnplannedAndy Thomson 1971 19 minAn industrial accident-prevention film illustrating that an accident usually has several causes. A situation is portrayed in a large machine shop, where a series of unsafe acts, combined with unsafe conditions, led to an accident in which a man's arm was caught in an unguarded machine. A film to stimulate discussion among managers, supervisors and safety professionals, as well as for all industrial employees.
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UraniumMagnus Isacsson 1990 47 minThis documentary looks at the hazards of uranium mining in Canada. Toxic and radioactive waste pose environmental threats while the traditional economic and spiritual lives of the Indigenous people who occupy this land have been violated. Given our limited knowledge of the associated risks, this film questions the validity of continuing the mining operations.
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WAL-TOWN The FilmSergeo Kirby 2006 1 h 6 minIn this feature documentary, 6 student activists visit 36 Canadian towns to take on one giant corporation. Filmed over 2 summers, these young crusaders (plus a gonzo journalist) try to raise public awareness about Wal-Mart's business practices and their effect on cities and towns across Canada. With youthful passion and often hilarious cultural jams, this film takes us to the frontlines of the ongoing debate over the company's increasing dominance in the Canadian retail market.
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Work DifferentJulien Capraro 2023 50 minHow has working remotely reshaped the workplace—and our lives? While the shift to working from home may seem abrupt, the concept is far from new. With humour and intelligence, Work Different takes a close look at the origins, impacts, upsides and uncertainties of remote work.
