Sami Tlili, Tunisia 2012 [Advised PG], 78 mins
January 2008: a sit-in lasting six months in front of Redeyef Town Hall, in South West Tunisia marks the beginning of civil dissent. General Ben Ali confronts his first popular uprising. Their names are Moudhaffer, Bechir, Adnene, Leila, Adel, Haroun. They are teachers and unemployed young people in despair showing their rage on the streets or standing to give support for young people whose claims they believe to be legitimate. Their 'revolt for dignity' gave birth three years later to the Tunisian revolution. In the phosphate mining basin, the equation is simple and absurd: the region experiences all the consequences (ecological and otherwise) without any of its advantages. What remains of this human adventure? Broken souls, open wounds but also pride and dignity.
Best Arab documentary Black Pearl Award: Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Cursed be the Phosphate, يلعن بو الفسفاط - trailer 3 mins from Sami Tlili
OCCUPATION: MILLWORKER
Anand Patwardhan, INDIA 1996 [PG], Hindi with EST, 22 mins
Textile mills were once the backbone of Bombay's economy and provided the city with its working class culture. Today, foreign investment and rising real-estate prices have made selling mill lands more profitable than running mills. Mill 'sickness' is now an epidemic. Anand Patwardhan records the inspirational action of workers who, after a four-year lockout, forcibly occupied the New Great Eastern Mill. Management opts to sell the surrounding land, but the unemployed workforce are determined to clear the debris and run the mill themselves.
Image courtesy of patwardhan.com
Discussion led by John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want
Screenings are at Bolívar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL.
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