13th Annual DC Labor FilmFest

The government is shut down but the show must go on. The DC Labor FilmFest show, that is! This year’s 13th Annual FilmFest is set for October 11–17 at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, MD. From new films to beloved classics, and from dramas to documentaries and comedies, the FilmFest is all about work and workers.

FREE SCREENING!
Black and White and Dead All Over

Tuesday, October 1, Busboys & Poets 6:30p (Free)

An in-depth look at the newspaper industry as it struggles to remain financially viable and to keep the presses rolling. Through the voices of prominent journalists including Bob Woodward of the Washington Post and David Carr of the New York Times, the film reveals an industry in the midst of a financial death spiral, as readers abandon print for online news sources and publishers and editors desperately try to create a sustainable business model for their dying papers. The film examines the importance journalism has on our society by following two fearless investigators into the badlands of North Philadelphia. With the economic crisis in the newsroom threatening to shutter their struggling tabloid, these courageous women bring down a dangerous and corrupt narcotics squad. If the American newspaper dies, who will conduct investigative journalism. Who will hold public officials accountable?

Followed by a discussion with: Bill Ross, Executive Director, TNG – CWA Local 3810; Christine Bonanducci, Vice President, Human Resources, PhillyNews; Dan Gross, Former daily news gossip columnist & Past president of Newspaper Guild Local 38010. Introduced by Cet Parks, Executive Director, Washington/Baltimore Newspaper Guild 32035.

Brother-OutsiderFREE SCREENING!
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

Friday, October 11, AFL-CIO 12 noon (Free)

During his 60-year career as an activist, organizer and “troublemaker,” Bayard Rustin formulated many of the strategies that propelled the American civil rights movement. His passionate belief in Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence drew Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to him in the 1940’s and 50’s; his practice of those beliefs drew the attention of the FBI and police. In 1963, Rustin brought his unique skills to the crowning glory of his civil rights career: his work organizing the March on Washington, the biggest protest America had ever seen. But his open homosexuality forced him to remain in the background, marking him again and again as a “brother outsider.” Brother Outsider: the Life of Bayard Rustin combines rare archival footage — some of it never before broadcast in the U.S. — with provocative interviews to illuminate the life and work of a forgotten prophet of social change.

Hosted by the Labor Heritage Foundation.

For tickets or to view trailers, visit the AFI web site.