The London Labour Film Festival features a very special competition for labour related short. We are pleased to announce the results of the contest.
Those selected will be screened at the festival later this week.
After much deliberation our global judging panel selected, from the 33 films presented to them, one overall winner and four runners up.
The standards were very high and the judges selected films that they felt contributed something different to the world of labour cinema.
The winners will be screened alongside our 18 feature length films at The Prince Charles in Leicester Square 13-15th September.
In winning place is:
Gloria
by John Ward & Nick Ward
Gloria is a simple, sensitive and touching portrait of life as an immigrant worker in the UK. It has high production values and great acting from the central character (Georgia Goodman). We were moved by this piece of work, the central theme of which we identified as love – the one human instinct that binds us all together – and as such we were able to empathise with Gloria from the outset.
Gloria will be screened before BIUTIFUL 20:40 Friday 14th September 2012 and after the Gala Screening of Snows of Kilimanjaro on Saturday 15th September 18:30.
WATCH IT AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA ALONGSIDE BIUTIFUL AND/OR SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO
The runners up
(in no particular order)
The Lion Sleeps No More
(time-lapse)
by Alec Hahn
Alec is an audiovisual media designer and an artist. His film almost makes the viewer a spectator to the march by cleverly compressing images which in real time, would be boring (a radical version of Warhol sleeping). What is lost in information on placards and banners is more than compensated for by the exhilaration of the massed marchers. The Morricone is perfect! With the March For A Future That Works on October 20th this is well-timed piece.
This film will be screened prior to the screening of Manufactured landscapes 15:45 Thursday 13th Sept.
WATCH IT AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA ALONGSIDE MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
Vast Riches
by Emmanuel Blessed
An ambitious well-paced film, very different in scope from some of the other films that we received, but nonetheless a very indirect and acceptable angle on labour. This film is an unusual take on the “rat race” plus our boy is not very admirable. This is a technically well-executed film.
This will be screened prior to the screening of Norma Rae at 15:40 on Saturday 15th Sept.
WATCH IT AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA ALONGSIDE NORMA RAE
Diving for Pearls
by Ryan Powell.
In many ways, this film is the real life documentary version of Gloria and imparts a similar message. The metaphor of this worker being locked underground and walked over by us all without anyone noticing is particularly powerful.
This will be screened prior to the screening of Mondays in the Sun 13:30 on Saturday 15th Sept.
WATCH IT AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA ALONGSIDE MONDAYS IN THE SUN
Stand Up
by Sean Taylor.
Well, we all love a good protest song, so were very pleased to be presented with this film. It works well because the images are not over-shadowed by the music, in fact the two seem to work comfortably hand-in-hand to reinforce the message that we are stronger when we stand together, and that change (throughout history and across the world) is often achieved by mass protest.
This will be screened prior to the screening of Brassed off at 15:40 on Friday 14th Sept 2012
WATCH IT AT THE PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA ALONSGSIDE BRASSED OFF
We would also like to highly commend the following films:
21 Years.
This is a simple even minimalist film but I think it’s directness and simplicity are virtues. It’s effective testimony from one of the workers about the dangers of chemical treatment of the banana crops. It is part of a series of five similar films about worker abuses in the Cameroon from the Make Fruit Fair campaign.
WATCH IT ONLINE
Starting To Smoke Again.
A rail worker, caught between the decisions of big business, has a long walk home in 2012
WATCH IT ONLINE
Winning in Worlds’ Ports
by an upbeat survey of ITF union dockers’ struggles and successes.
WATCH IT ONLINE
Rights Removal
This is also an ambitious film using an unusual scenario highlighting a very important issue at the current time
WATCH IT ONLINE
Brutally Yours
A nice agit prop piece
WATCH IT ONLINE
Rig Life
WATCH IT ONLINE
Union Street
WATCH IT ONLINE
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in the festival we enjoyed watching all of your films, each one great and in its own way is a winner.
We look forward to seeing you at the festival.
The Judges
Tom Zaniello lives in America, and is the author of Working Stiffs, Union Maids, Reds, and Riffraff: An Expanded Guide to Films about Labour and The Cinema of Globalization: A Guide to Films about the New Economic Order, both from Cornell University Press. He is currently writing a study of labour films in the 21st century megalopolis and a guide to Hitchcock’s films.
Anna Burton is director of the London Labour Film Festival director. She has worked for 13 years in the labour movement and runs a film production company in London.
Jon Garlock chairs the Education Committee of the Rochester (NY) Labor Council. He coordinates an annual Labor Film Series, now in its 23rd year, presented at the International Museum of Film and Photography at George Eastman House. He has written curriculum materials and co-directed a video on local labor history. (Film series and publication details are at www.rochesterlabor.org).
Steve Price is an award winning filmmaker specialising in music related productions, with credits including scores of artists from Billy Bragg to Beyonce. He is a political activist and based in the UK.