If you are interested in joining a study group on worker cooperatives, please fill out the google doc form below:
Below are some interesting films that will be streaming for free over the next couple of weeks. Today is the last day for the first two, so check them out. Hope at least some of us can take advantage of this offer.
Many of us have become accustomed to starting our day with a dread of what terrible news that day might bring. But now, suddenly, we feel heartened to see so many of our fellow US Americans stepping forward to demand and build a society that is more equal, just and sustainable. The pandemic, economic crisis and increasingly visible violence against African Americans and other people of color have exposed long existing fault lines in our society, and pressure is building to correct them. There is widespread public discussion about emerging from the current crisis with a revitalized commitment to global justice, respect for the freedom and dignity of all people, and a sustainable environment.
To contribute to that discussion, Moving Images, in collaboration with our distributor Bullfrog Films, is offering free on-line viewing of several of our films that show living examples of people who are building the kind of world we want to see. Two films will be available each week at this site, password: M0V1@nG
Beyond those specific dates, go to http://bullfrogfilms.com/ for streaming, screening events, or purchase options. For more about Moving Images visit shiftchange.org,
movingimages.org,
goodfoodthemovie.org.Enjoy the films! Please forward this to friends and allies.In solidarity, Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin, Moving Images producers, and the Moving Images board
Week 1, July 9 through 15: Neighborhood organizing in Detroit, and World Social Forum for global justice
We Are Not Ghosts [2012] – 52 min. Fifty years ago Detroit was booming, with two million hard working people living the American Dream. Then the auto industry fell on hard times and so did Detroit. Many people moved away. Whole neighborhoods turned into wastelands. But some have a vision for a new Detroit, as a human scaled city in a post industrial world. And with urban farms, peace zones, and spoken word poets, they are starting to make it real. Langston Hughes, Greater Reading, Awaken! Film Festivals. Brussels Academy Amsterdam, Free Speech TV broadcast.
Another World is Possible [2002] – 24 min. In 2002, 51,000 people from 131 countries gathered for the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Called in response to the elite gathering of the World Economic Forum, this week of workshops, panel discussions, and high-spirited demonstrations was inspirational for those attending. “What we’ve been doing all week here is telling each other rumors, about creative and brave resistance, telling each other stories, that are true stories….” – Naomi Klein. Hazel Wolf Environmental, Peace & Human Security, Planet in Focus, Vermont International, Columbus bronze, Global Visions, Prix Leonardo gold, Green Reel, Tunisia, US Social Forum festivals. Broadcast WYBE Philadelphia and Telesur.
Week 2, July 16 through 22: Democratic workplaces benefit worker owners and local communities
SHIFT CHANGE [2012] – 70 min. Employee ownership offers a real solution for workers and communities to have secure dignified work in democratic workplaces. Shift Change highlights worker-owned enterprises in North America and the remarkable Mondragon cooperatives in the Basque region of northern Spain. PBS, WORLD Channel broadcasts 2014-17.
WEconomics: Italy [2016] – 19 min. The Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy has one of the highest concentrations of cooperative businesses in the developed world , and this film highlights what a cooperative economy and society have to offer.
Week 3, July 23 through 29: Resistance to Trump-like politics, and building a more sustainable food system
Don’t Give Up Your Voice [2018] – 40 min. Widespread and creative resistance to a Trump-like president in Argentina – in organized labor, at worker coops, street protests, theater and music – led to his overwhelming defeat in his re-election bid in 2019. Canadian International Labour and Workers Unite Film Festivals.
GOOD FOOD[2008] – 57 min. Pacific Northwest family farmers, plus the businesses and markets that feature their products, show that it is possible to increase the supply of healthy, local, sustainably grown food. Seattle International Film Festival, broadcast PBS.