Workers Unite Film Festival 2021

Welcome to the online portion of the 2021 Workers Unite Film Festival!
Season 10 is now over and tickets are disabled. But, you can still watch trailers of the films in our on-demand catalog here. Winners to be announced this November on workersunitefilmfestival.org! Plus, the opening date for next season's submissions.

New In October

Films from the Frontlines

'Dissidents' Series - Social Revolts in Chile: Chapters 1-4
Apprentice Electricians Citizen Films Showcase (IBEW Local 3)
Conversations Between Shifts
Feet of Earth
The Free State of George Floyd
How to Form A Union
The Life of A Union Organizer

Documentary Feature

Narrative

Anyway, Jeff Bezos Can Kiss Our Ass
Amid NYC's fight against Amazon, Aurelia must decide what it means to be "crazy" in a crazy world for the sake of her neighborhood and her small family.
19 min | 2019 | United States
Anyway, Jeff Bezos Can Kiss Our Ass
Bone Cage
'Bone Cage' examines how young people in rural communities, employed in the destruction of their environment, treat the people they love at the end of their shift.
90 min | 2020 | Canada
Bone Cage
For Armetta
To commemorate the one-year COVID-19 lockdown anniversary, we look at the profound sacrifices that essential workers have made since March 2020.
6 min | 2021 | United States
For Armetta
Grinning Skull
Set in 1946 L.A., Black and Latina washroom attendants wrestle with the decision to unionize, bucking racism, sexism, and class discrimination.
21 min | 2018 | United States
Grinning Skull
Limbo
A true-fiction short about a Polish care worker in London whose humanity is blunted by the demands of his digital boss.
19 min | 2020 | United Kingdom
Limbo
No Shortcuts to Change
A homecare aid meets her Fairy God-Person, who is trying to "change her life for the better" by tempting her with magical shortcuts.
4 min | 2021 | United States
No Shortcuts to Change
Stormchaser
Bonnie Blue is a storm door saleswoman who realizes her 'Disaster Capitalism'-preaching boss is just exploiting customers — unleashing an inner and outer storm of violence.
28 min | 2019 | United States
Stormchaser

Documentary Short

#TimeToCare
The pandemic heightened awareness that we all need time to care — and that most of us can’t afford it.
21 min | 2021 | United States
#TimeToCare
Archeology of the Workers' Dignity
This short delves into shameful working conditions in Guatemala and the devastating consequences of the pandemic.
32 min | 2020 | Guatemala
Archeology of the Workers' Dignity
The Coke Cartel
Experience the dark reality behind Coca-Cola’s world of “happiness” and the extreme methods they use to suppress workers rights and bury the truth, in a narrative of blatant corporate impunity.
32 min | 2021 | Mexico
The Coke Cartel
Committing to Make It Come True - The CISL, the Labour Union
People speak about the importance of being in a union.
7 min | 2020 | Italy
Committing to Make It Come True - The CISL, the Labour Union
Conversations Between Shifts
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a nurse and her son.
30 min | 2021 | United States
Conversations Between Shifts
Feet of Earth
Shoemakers in Turkey, including Syrian immigrants, speak out about low wages, child labor, and health and safety issues
23 min | 2020 | Turkey
Feet of Earth
Frankness
A love letter to the strong, funny, loud Jewish matriarchs of the Frank family, exploring the subjects of unionization, love, and death.
22 min | 2019 | United States
Frankness
The Great Strike of 1983, or How A Small Town Lost Its Edge
A small mining town in Arizona was struck by two catastrophes in 1983: one of the largest floods in history and a strike to end all strikes.
7 min | 2020 | United States
The Great Strike of 1983, or How A Small Town Lost Its Edge
How to Form A Union
Willy Street Grocery Co-op workers organize for a union.
23 min | 2021 | United States
How to Form A Union
I, Candy
Filmmaker Candy Kugel deconstructs a drawing she did when she was 6 yrs old to explore her life, touching on family history, current events and societal norms of the time.
22 min | 2018 | United States
I, Candy
The Last Cut
The oldest barbershop in Manhattan’s Chinatown is coming to its close. The barbers, all immigrants, have to face their retirement and adapt to this new stage of life.
14 min | 2021 | United States
The Last Cut
Long Distance
While Roderick, a Cargill meat plant worker, recovers in the hospital from a COVID-induced stroke, his wife, Norie, summons the strength to support her family.
28 min | 2021 | Canada
Long Distance
Making the Impossible Possible: The Story of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College
A short doc about the student led struggle to win Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (CUNY) in the late 1960’s.
34 min | 2021 | United States
Making the Impossible Possible: The Story of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College
Parklife
Life in Manhattan’s Columbus Park, where groups of Chinese seniors congregate on a daily basis. Until the pandemic sets in.
17 min | 2020 | United States
Parklife
Precarity U
Employees at the University of Toronto speak out about work and shine a light on things that need to change.
14 min | 2020 | Canada
Precarity U
Sacrificial Lambs
The story of the COVID-19 pandemic on Rikers Island, as told through recorded phone interviews with correctional officers and a former inmate.
5 min | 2021 | United States
Sacrificial Lambs
Signed, Sealed and Delivered: Labor Struggle In the Post Office
Mandatory overtime, speed-up, and union-busting at the U.S. Postal Service - sound familiar? Here’s how postal workers in 1978 confronted grueling and dangerous conditions: they walked out on a wildcat strike.
39 min | 1980 | United States
Signed, Sealed and Delivered: Labor Struggle In the Post Office
Three Threads
Pachan Siju is a traditional handloom artisan in Gujarat, India, with great aspirations for his clothing brand, 'Three Threads'.
25 min | 2021 | India
Three Threads

COVID-19

#TimeToCare
The pandemic heightened awareness that we all need time to care — and that most of us can’t afford it.
21 min | 2021 | United States
#TimeToCare
Archeology of the Workers' Dignity
This short delves into shameful working conditions in Guatemala and the devastating consequences of the pandemic.
32 min | 2020 | Guatemala
Archeology of the Workers' Dignity
Conversations Between Shifts
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a nurse and her son.
30 min | 2021 | United States
Conversations Between Shifts
For Armetta
To commemorate the one-year COVID-19 lockdown anniversary, we look at the profound sacrifices that essential workers have made since March 2020.
6 min | 2021 | United States
For Armetta
Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars
'Last Call' explores the impact of COVID-19 on the NYC hospitality industry, including healthcare workers and bars in Astoria, Queens.
60 min | 2020 | United States
Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars
The Last Cut
The oldest barbershop in Manhattan’s Chinatown is coming to its close. The barbers, all immigrants, have to face their retirement and adapt to this new stage of life.
14 min | 2021 | United States
The Last Cut
Limbo
A true-fiction short about a Polish care worker in London whose humanity is blunted by the demands of his digital boss.
19 min | 2020 | United Kingdom
Limbo
Long Distance
While Roderick, a Cargill meat plant worker, recovers in the hospital from a COVID-induced stroke, his wife, Norie, summons the strength to support her family.
28 min | 2021 | Canada
Long Distance
Parklife
Life in Manhattan’s Columbus Park, where groups of Chinese seniors congregate on a daily basis. Until the pandemic sets in.
17 min | 2020 | United States
Parklife
Sacrificial Lambs
The story of the COVID-19 pandemic on Rikers Island, as told through recorded phone interviews with correctional officers and a former inmate.
5 min | 2021 | United States
Sacrificial Lambs