We’re excited to partner with Appalachian Voices, Clean Water for North Carolina, and the NC Sierra Club to present a tour of Water Warriors throughout North Carolina. Water Warriors, a short documentary directed by Michael Premo, honors one native community’s struggle, against seemingly insurmountable odds, to protect their land, water, and way of life. When an energy company began searching for natural gas in 2013, these unlikely warriors united to drive the company out. Their efforts eventually contributed to the election of a new government and a conditional moratorium on…
Even before the Trump Administration took office, some 11 million undocumented immigrants were subject to a brutal detention and deportation machine. Since then, an even more drastic shift in rhetoric around immigration, a sharp rise in raids, the travel ban, and the rescindment of DACA indicate a harder stance and antagonism intended to push some of the country’s most vulnerable residents out. A new film called Out of Reach, part of the Epix America Divides series, follows actress America Ferrera as she travels to Texas in the final months of the…
United for a Fair Economy and Working Films are looking for short and feature length films that delve into the story of the rising income inequality, as told through the lens of Race. Media should touch on or complement the topics that United for a Fair Economy has focused on over the last 10 years, including financial exclusion, housing, healthcare, tax policy, lack of employment, voting rights, government austerity/cuts, foreclosure, disinvestment and others. We want to pique the interest of audiences, spur discussion, and generate action to address these critical…
A few weeks ago, a group of activists and scholars of environmental justice met at The Franklinton Center at Bricks for the 17th annual North Carolina Environmental Justice Summit. The former slave plantation and early African American school in Whitakers, NC that has been repurposed as a training, retreat, and educational center for social justice, made for a profound setting for the opening night screening of Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek by Leah Mahan. Fifty participants gathered to watch and discuss the painful but inspiring story…
Working Films is partnering with the Cucalorus Film Festival to put together an art installation entitled, Smoke and Water. We need people like you to participate in creating the installation. Could you volunteer a few hours of your time to help the artist paint? No artistic ability required, just a willingness to get your hands dirty with some bright paint. We need your help this Thursday November 6th through Tuesday November 11th. You can sign up for a block of time. See the specifics on time and location below and…
Working Films is partnering with Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, Tennessee NAACP, Tennessee Education Association, Common Cause, The Coalition for the Organizational Protection of People and Equal Rights and United for a Fair Economy to launch Together Tennessee, a screening series that will bring award-winning documentaries to six cities across the state this October. The series marks the beginning of a long range collaborative campaign to advance social and economic justice in Tennessee. Screenings will be free and open to the public and will be shown in: Nashville (Citizen Koch), Memphis (The…
Last month, we gathered with a cross section of organizations from across Tennessee to make plans for using documentaries to advance social, economic and environmental justice and sustainability in the state. A day long summit held at the United Steel Workers Union Hall in Nashville, was aimed at better connecting progressive groups in Tennessee to each other, and at increasing their skills and capacity to use media, popular education, and creative actions to reach their goals. The summit included a training component on best practices for leveraging documentary film and…
The North Carolina Moral Movies Film Series draws to a close this month with screenings of the acclaimed documentary, Inequality for All. The film features Robert Reich – professor, best-selling author, and Clinton cabinet member – as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. As Alexandra Sirota, Director of the NC Budget and Tax Center explains, “North Carolina, like the nation, is seeing increased barriers for too many to get ahead. Inequality for All provides the important context for this experience and…
Today marks one year since the passing of our beloved co-founder Robert West. We are continuing to honor him today by posting more tributes from his friends, family, and colleagues. Below you’ll find the eulogy given by Judith Helfand, Robert’s dear friend and the co-founder of Working Films, who reflects on their longtime friendship and pioneering work together. We’re also sharing reflections from Robert’s twin sister, Jane Bench, and Robert’s childhood friend Ted Winfield that were given at Robert’s memorial service last year. If these stories and tributes inspire you to share…
It has been a year since our co-founder Robert West passed away. We’re honoring him this week by posting tributes to him from his friends, family, and colleagues. Today we’ve shared the words of Reggie Shuford, Robert’s friend and the Working Films board chair, and Robert’s niece, Emily West. If you feel inspired to share your own memories of Robert after reading, please post in the comments here or on our Facebook page. For Robert West By Emily West Thank you for letting me speak about Robert today. I am…
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