Reel Works
May Day Labor Film Festival
Nobia Monsauret, Staff Reporter
nmonsauret@csumb.edu
Monterey County citizens arrived at Marina Library on the evening of Earth day, Thursday April 22, for the Reel Work Labor Film Festival screening of Coal Country and Time to Tackle Climate Change, marking the arrival of the Film Festival to Monterey County. Attendees received information on ecological justice issues that citizens face in the 21 century. Citizens for Sustainable Marina, a “green” community action group, California Faculty Association (CFA) and Student California Teachers Association (SCTA) sponsored the presentation of the documentaries. Dr. Jennifer Colby, CFA representative and one of the festival’s main organizers said, “The two films really showed the need to combine blue (labor) and green (environmental). Time to Tackle Climate Change showed the international movement that puts working people in the forefront of demanding change that will save the planet from environmental destruction while creating new green jobs. The poorest people of the world will be the most effected by climate change.”
Luana Conely of Citizens for Sustainable Marina was happy with the community turnout. “I was very proud to be asked to sponsor the Coal Country screening in Marina in particular because the labor and environmental aspects of the West Virginia fight match my passion for labor organizing and work with the sustainable movement. My strong belief is that when these two powerful groups join forces, we can bring about tremendous positive improvement at a local level,” said Conely.
The festival’s goal is to present cultural events that bring together award-winning documentary film producers, workers, activists and students from around the Central Coast in Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clarita Counties to discuss economic and global justice issues, and of increasing community awareness about the central role of work in the lives of people. The festival brings alive the history and culture of the labor movement in the US and abroad. Reel Work Labor Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Myrna Cherin and Ginny Hirsch, long-time union activists and members of the Retirees Chapter of SEIU Local 415 in Santa Cruz. Many documentaries premiere through Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival with film makers speaking and engaging in audience dialogue. The film festival is sponsored by many local union organizations, including the Monterey Bay Central Coast Labor Council (www.reelwork.org).
Other films in the 2010 series for Monterey County were The People Speak (the late Howard Zinn & Tony Sacco, 2010); Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008; Cleve Jones speaker) and Race to No Where (Vicki Abeles, 2009). Next year new films will be premiered on labor issues. This year’s films will be donated to the CSUMB library. The financial sponsor of the events is the CFA with additional sponsorship this year from SCTA, Out and About and Citizens for Sustainable Marina.
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