Work. Justice. Cinema. Don’t miss this year’s powerful lineup of films about workers and their stories—from LILLY to NINE TO FIVE to STRIKE—screening at the AFI Silver Theatre.
🎟️ Films, trailers & tickets
📍AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD
🎫 Union & AFI member discounts available.
Organized by the Labor Heritage Foundation & AFI Silver.
⭐ Featured Films:
📍LILLY (May 1, Opening Night) – Patricia Clarkson stars in the powerful true story of Lilly Ledbetter’s fight for equal pay, from the factory floor to the Supreme Court.
📍CALAMITY – Věra Chytilová’s anarchic 1982 satire follows a hapless train conductor battling love, bureaucracy, and snowy chaos in Communist-era Czechoslovakia.
📍CLOCKWATCHERS – A smart, bittersweet workplace dramedy about four temps navigating corporate culture, friendship, and theft suspicions in the 1990s.
📍THE LAST SHOWGIRL – Pamela Anderson shines as a Vegas performer facing the end of her era in this heartfelt tale of identity, aging, and chosen family.
📍BLUE SUN PALACE – Two immigrant women form a deep bond working in a Flushing massage parlor—until tragedy strikes on Lunar New Year.
📍LA COCINA – A tense, high-energy kitchen drama set in Times Square, where undocumented workers chase dreams and survival amid simmering class conflict.
📍MANTHAN – India’s first crowdfunded film tells the inspiring story of rural farmers forming a milk cooperative to challenge caste and economic oppression.
📍NINE TO FIVE – Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton team up in this iconic, hilarious takedown of sexist office culture and push for workplace reform.
📍SEPTEMBER 5 – At the 1972 Munich Olympics, ABC Sports pivots to crisis coverage as a hostage tragedy unfolds—testing journalistic ethics under pressure.
📍BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS – A cornerstone of the LA Rebellion movement, this poignant drama explores joblessness and family in 1980s Black Los Angeles.
📍GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK – Edward R. Murrow takes on Senator McCarthy during the Red Scare in this riveting tribute to journalistic integrity.
📍STRIKE (1925) (May 29, Closing Night) – Sergei Eisenstein’s revolutionary debut depicts a brutal worker uprising in Tsarist Russia, with live musical accompaniment.
📽️ Join us for a month of powerful storytelling that honors the dignity, struggle, and spirit of working people.