Workers Solidarity Movement

The Irish Film Institute, in conjunction with SIPTU, is running Dublin’s first ever Labour Film Festival. The event is one of many being organised to celebrate the Union’s Centenary.

It is also being assisted by the Washington DC Labour Film Fest, which has pioneered Labour Film Festivals around the world. The showing of each film will be followed by talks from leading industrial, social and cultural commentators.
The films will be shown every Tuesday at 6.30pm from April 28 - May 26.
There will be special May Day Weekend screenings from May 1-3.

Tickets for the full IFI series are €120 and or €105 for SIPTU members.
Tickets can also be purchased for individual shows and children can attend Chicken Run on May 3, for €5.

The full programme is:
WEEK 1 - April 28, 6.30pm
MODERN TIMES (1936) plus Panel Discussion
Charlie Chaplin’s joyous comment on modern industrialisation processes. In his final silent outing, the Little Tramp is driven to distraction by assembly line tasks.

WEEK 2 - May 5, 6.30pm
THE TAKE (2004) plus Panel Discussion
Argentina’s 2001 financial crisis is the backdrop for this documentary by Canadian filmmaker Avi Lewis and writer/producer Naomi Klein about workers’ takeover of a car factory. The Take is a stirring documentary that raises basic questions about economics, government and the human desire for dignity.

WEEK 3 - May 12, 6.30pm
HUMAN RESOURCES (RESOURCES HUMAINES) (1999) plus Talk ‘Industrial Action in France’
Long before winning the Palme d’or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival for The Class (Entre les murs), director Laurent Cantet made this quietly powerful study of work, family and class relations. When business graduate Franck (Jalil Lespert) returns to his home town to take a management position in the factory where his father has worked for years, he tries to win support from the workers but finds himself caught in the middle between management and his father as layoffs and cutbacks take their toll.

WEEK 4 - May 19, 6.30pm
THE NAVIGATORS (2001) plus Talk ‘The Films of Ken Loach’
Veteran British director Ken Loach is world renowned for uncompromisingly naturalistic work that tackles civil rights and social issues. This film, which never received a theatrical release in Ireland, tells of a group of English railway workers who are made unemployed with the advent of privatisation.

WEEK 5 - May 26, 6.30pm
Irish Workers on Film featuring THE IRISHMEN: AN IMPRESSION OF EXILE (1965) plus Panel Discussion ‘Work In Irish Film’
With emigration once more in the news, this film by Philip Donnellan about 1960s emigration to England depicted scenes of isolation and loneliness. Showing alongside this will be extracts from a new SIPTU funded documentary on migrant workers in which they share their own experiences of working in Ireland.

For our first IFI May Day Film Weekend we are delighted to welcome renowned filmmaker and historian, Kevin Brownlow, Chris and John Garlock from the long established Washington DC Labor Film Festival and others. The programme features three cinema premieres, discussions on the theme of work, and a special family event (see below).

May Day Weekend Film Screenings:

May 1 OUTSOURCED!
Premiere screening of this ultra contemporary romantic comedy. When an American call centre is outsourced to Bombay, manager Todd has to go and train his replacement.

May 2 WINSTANLEY
Renowned film historian Kevin Brownlow will present his newly restored film, a starkly beautiful tribute to Gerard Winstanley, the 17th century radical who led a Diggers commune in Surrey.

May 3
CHICKEN RUN
Special Family Screening. This animated gem from Aardman Studios expresses our human hopes and fears through the eyes of our feathered friends.
OFFICE SPACE
Long before Ricky Gervais unleashed his particular version of office life, Mike Judge, who is best known as the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, showed the absurdities that could be found in work practices.

For more information on the evening course bookings call 01 612 9415/9466IFI Box Office: 01 679 3477

Online Bookings: www.ifibooking.ie.