“The Black Worker,” programmed by Yasmina Price, runs February 7 through 13 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.I Am Somebody.The story of Diouana, a young Senegalese woman hired by a bourgeois French couple in Ousmane Sembène’s La noire de… (1966), finds common ground with that of militant organizing by the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Finally Got the News (1970). Thousands of miles separate Antibes, in the French Riviera, and Detroit, in the American Midwest. The former is a fiction film, and the latter a documentary. The material conditions of individual domestic work are far removed from unionized labor in the auto industry. Still, these two films both have a place in the genealogy of cinematic negotiations with the concurrent and interlocking oppressions of race, class, and gender. “The Black Worker” applies an internationalist lens to capitalism’s record of slavery and colonization through fifteen films made between the 1960s and 2020s.
- 2/7/2025
- MUBI
Few films released over 40 years ago can claim to be as relevant today as when they first came out. The Wobblies is one of them.
The 1979 documentary, directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, recounts in oral history form the story of the Industrial Workers of the World union, otherwise known as the Wobblies. The labor organization, founded in 1905, espoused the brash idea that workers should share in company profits, get medical care if they were injured on the job, and work an 8-hour day.
The Iww stood apart for other reasons—it was a general union (as opposed to a craft union) that welcomed men and women, regardless of race or ethnic background. And it represented the great mass of unskilled workers, the kind of laborers who toiled in factories for long hours, for low wages, typically in dangerous conditions.
“They were opening up to everyone–anyone who earned...
The 1979 documentary, directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, recounts in oral history form the story of the Industrial Workers of the World union, otherwise known as the Wobblies. The labor organization, founded in 1905, espoused the brash idea that workers should share in company profits, get medical care if they were injured on the job, and work an 8-hour day.
The Iww stood apart for other reasons—it was a general union (as opposed to a craft union) that welcomed men and women, regardless of race or ethnic background. And it represented the great mass of unskilled workers, the kind of laborers who toiled in factories for long hours, for low wages, typically in dangerous conditions.
“They were opening up to everyone–anyone who earned...
- 5/4/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
New York’s Metrograph canceled a Friday night filmmaker Q&a that was to accompany the 1979 pro-labor documentary “The Wobblies,” recently restored and in re-release from Kino Lorber.
A source tells IndieWire that Metrograph management scrapped the Q&a out of concern that ongoing claims of labor issues at the lower Manhattan arthouse would overshadow the movie if the floor was opened up to the audience. The status of another Q&a for a Monday evening screening is yet to be determined, sources tell IndieWire.
Directors Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer shared a joint statement with IndieWire, saying, “We recently heard rumors of a conflict between the management of the Metrograph Theater and their staff. While we don’t know any details, we uphold the right of all workers to be guaranteed a safe working environment, fair wages, and to form a union to protect their common interests.”
The film tells the story...
A source tells IndieWire that Metrograph management scrapped the Q&a out of concern that ongoing claims of labor issues at the lower Manhattan arthouse would overshadow the movie if the floor was opened up to the audience. The status of another Q&a for a Monday evening screening is yet to be determined, sources tell IndieWire.
Directors Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer shared a joint statement with IndieWire, saying, “We recently heard rumors of a conflict between the management of the Metrograph Theater and their staff. While we don’t know any details, we uphold the right of all workers to be guaranteed a safe working environment, fair wages, and to form a union to protect their common interests.”
The film tells the story...
- 4/29/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Teeming with rousing folk songs from the picket line and spirited one-liners from union men and women, Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer’s 1979 documentary “The Wobblies” collages together personal impressions from former miners, lumberjacks, stevedores, wheat farmers, silk weavers, and migratory workers — all members of the Iww (International Workers of the World) at the turn of the century — to create .
Ripe for rediscovery on the eve of a new 4K restoration that will be screened across the country in honor of May Day, the film endures as an astounding and essential portrait of American subversion as seen through the eyes of those who lived it.
The Iww, whose members were nicknamed “Wobblies” (or “Wobs”), was formed in 1905 with the goal of creating “One Big Union” made up of all workers, regardless of skill level, race, creed, gender, or country of origin (an audacious notion when most unions were off-limits to...
Ripe for rediscovery on the eve of a new 4K restoration that will be screened across the country in honor of May Day, the film endures as an astounding and essential portrait of American subversion as seen through the eyes of those who lived it.
The Iww, whose members were nicknamed “Wobblies” (or “Wobs”), was formed in 1905 with the goal of creating “One Big Union” made up of all workers, regardless of skill level, race, creed, gender, or country of origin (an audacious notion when most unions were off-limits to...
- 4/29/2022
- by Susannah Gruder
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Shiva Baby (2020) Emma Seligman's Bottoms now has a cast, which includes Shiva Baby star Rachel Sennott, Havana Rose Liu, Ayo Edebiri, and former NFL player Marshawn Lynch. Written by Seligman and Sennott, the film is a high school sex comedy about "two unpopular queer girls in their senior year who start a fight club to try to impress and hook up with cheerleaders." Michel Bouquet, the prolific French film and theater actor, has died at 96. Early in his film career, Bouquet narrated Alain Resnais' Night and Fog (1955), then went on to appear in films by François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Deray, and many more. Among his later performances was the role of the tiular painter in Gilles Bourdos's Renoir (2013). Submissions are now open for "The Video Essay," the annual collaborative section of...
- 4/13/2022
- MUBI
Landmark Labor Movement documentary “The Wobblies” makes its return to theaters over 30 years after first premiering at the New York Film Festival in 1979, and IndieWire has the exclusive new trailer here.
“The Wobblies” tells the story of the radical labor union the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as Iww and nicknamed The Wobblies. Founded in Chicago in 1905, the union championed the formation of “one big union” for all unskilled laborers, regardless of their race and gender.
Combining rare archival footage, illuminating interviews with Union members, period artwork, and songs written by activist Joe Hill, filmmakers Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer hope a re-release will speak to the same themes labor unions are facing today.
“When we started production on ‘The Wobblies’ in 1977, our goal was to rescue and record an almost completely neglected chapter of American history as told by its elderly survivors,” Bird and Shaffer said in a joint statement.
“The Wobblies” tells the story of the radical labor union the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as Iww and nicknamed The Wobblies. Founded in Chicago in 1905, the union championed the formation of “one big union” for all unskilled laborers, regardless of their race and gender.
Combining rare archival footage, illuminating interviews with Union members, period artwork, and songs written by activist Joe Hill, filmmakers Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer hope a re-release will speak to the same themes labor unions are facing today.
“When we started production on ‘The Wobblies’ in 1977, our goal was to rescue and record an almost completely neglected chapter of American history as told by its elderly survivors,” Bird and Shaffer said in a joint statement.
- 4/1/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
This week is Ben Barenholtz' birthday.
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
We'd like to celebrate by running 2 pieces on his amazing wonderful life.
This is his public bio, which in itself, tells of a rich wonderful career in film.
In the next days we'll publish his amazing memoir of his European childhood when he narrowly escaped from the hands of Jew killers during the War.
I personally owe Ben a lot. When I was producing some years back Ben was working for Almi and bought an indie film I produced 'Home Free All' by Director Stewart Bird for that company. The money from that deal paid our investors and took us out of a deep financial hole. I am always grateful to Ben for his vision and belief in us then.
Now for his professional bio -
Biography for Ben Barenholtz
Birth Name Benjamin Barenholtz
Mini Biography
As an exhibitor, distributor, and producer, Ben Barenholtz has been a key presence in the independent film scene since the late 1960s, when he opened the Elgin Cinema in New York City.
Barenholtz secured his first job in the film business when he became assistant manager of the Rko Bushwick Theater in Brooklyn in 1958. From 1966-68 he managed and lived in the Village Theater, which ultimately became the Filmore East. At the Village Theater Barenholtz provided a home for the counterculture, with appearances by Timothy Leary, Stokley Carmichael, Rap Brown, and Paul Krasner. Some of the first meetings of the anti-Vietnam War movement, including the Poets Against Vietnam, were held at the Village Theater. It was also a major music venue, with performances by The Who, Cream, Leonard Cohen, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Nina Simone and many others.
In 1968 he opened the Elgin Cinema. The theater became the world's most innovative specialty and revival house, relaunching the films of Buster Keaton and D.W. Griffith, running a variety of independent films by young American directors, and screening cult, underground, and experimental films for the emerging countercultural audience. The films of Stan Brakhage, Jack Smith, Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol, as well as early works by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese, all played at the Elgin.
Barenholtz also developed new ways of screening movies. He started screening dance and opera films on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created the "All Night Show" - movies started at midnight and ended at dawn. Most notably, Barenholtz originated the "Midnight Movie" in 1970 with Alexander Jodorowsky's El Topo, which ran for 6 months, 7 days a week, to sold out audiences.
The film was eventually bought by John Lennon. El Topo was followed at midnight by John Waters' Pink Flamingoes and Perry Henzell's The Harder They Come. Barenholtz formed the specialty distributor Libra Films in 1972.
The first film Libra distributed was a revival of Jean-Pierre Melville's Les Enfants Terrible, followed by Claude Chabrol's Just Before Nightfall, and Jean-Charles Tacchella's Cousin, Cousine, which became one of the largest grossing foreign films in the Us and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.
Libra also launched and distributed, among others, George Romero's Martin, John Sayles' first feature Return of the Secaucus Seven, David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead, Karen Arthur's first feature Legacy, Earl Mack's first feature Children of Theater Street, and Peter Gothar's first feature Time Stands Still.
Barenholtz sold Libra Films to the Almi Group in 1982, but stayed with the company to become the President of Libra-Cinema 5 Films. In 1984 he left Almi and joined with Ted and Jim Pedas to form Circle Releasing. Among the films released by Circle were Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Guy Maddin's first feature Tales From the Gimli Hospital, Vincent Ward's The Navigator, John Woo's The Killer, Catherine Breillat's 36 Fillette, DeWitt Sage's first feature Pavarotti In China, Alain Cavalier's Therese, and Blood Simple, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
His involvement in film production began with Wynn Chamberlain's Brand X and George Romero's Martin. He continued working with the Coens on the production of Raising Arizona, and as executive producer of Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor. This was the first and last time the three top honors have all gone to the same film at Cannes.
Barenholtz went on to produce George Romero's Bruiser, J Todd Anderson's The Naked Man, Adek Drabinski's Cheat, executive-produced Gregory Hines' directorial debut Bleeding Hearts and Ulu Grossbard's Georgia, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Mare Winningham. He served as co-executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which earned Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 2000.
Barenholtz appeared in the documentary The Hicks in Hollywood, had a bit role in Liquid Sky, and appeared as a zombie in Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead. He was the main subject of Stuart Samuels' 2005 documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream.
Barenholtz directed his first feature, Music Inn, a documentary about the famed jazz venue.
Barenholtz was the producer of Jamie Greenberg's feature film Stags.
In 2012, Barenholtz produced Suzuya Bobo's first feature Family Games.
Barenholtz has recently completed directing and post production on Wakaliwood the Documentary, which was shot entirely in Kampala, Uganda. The film will be released in 2013.
He is now developing two feature fiction films which begin production in 2013.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ben Barenholtz...
- 10/8/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
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