November is labour film month. NAJC is happy to host the Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) in its Sweet 16 year of providing inspiring films about workers from the world. CLiFF holds free screenings across Canada and pays fees to the filmmakers.
NAJC is hosting two free online 1 hour screenings and Q&A sessions after the screenings.
Sunday, November 24 at 1 pm (Pacific), 2 pm (Mountain), 3 pm (Central), 4 pm (Eastern).
Register at https://watch.eventive.org/cliff2024/play/671c08d1e2130d0041f20376
The screening is available for 24 hours from showtime as long as you register.
If you want to discuss the films after the screening, register for the Q&A session on zoom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf–tqDstE9ZTdMicQe8_41E_kutAJhem
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Tuesday, November 26 at 6 pm (Pacific), 7 pm (Mountain), 8 pm (Central), 9 pm (Eastern)
https://watch.eventive.org/cliff2024/play/671c09b7bf39be00484b8fe9
The screening is available for 24 hours from showtime as long as your register.
If you want to discuss the films after the screening, register for the Q&A session on zoom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf–tqDstE9ZTdMicQe8_41E_kutAJhem
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Special guests, Counting Days Director Hiromu Yamawaki, lead actress, Haruno Niiyama and the producer, Yuki Kedoin will attend the Q&A session on November 26.
Films for each screening.
1. Counting Days – (Canada) English, Japanese
Ayano, Japanese migrant worker faces reality of living in a foreign land. She tries to seek a way to stay and live in Canada.
Ayano makes herself a morning coffee with one of the filters that she just bought. It is a pack of 90. The number of days before her VISA expires. Through Ayano we learn what it feels like to be living as a temporary foreign worker and the vulnerability that comes with this along with pressures like the rising cost of living. Beautifully shot. It is a tender and heartfelt portrait.
2. Humormàtic – (Spain) Catalan
Humormatic is a short comedy about working as a comedy writer and the value of that labour. At it’s heart, it asks us, why do we value machines more than people? A comedy screenwriter at a TV Station has to work with a machine that writes jokes. The screenwriter tries to make her colleagues, her bosses, the hosts, and audiences value her work – but alas, is forced to adapt.
3. The Canadian Dream – (Canada) Spanish
A migrant worker’s pursuit of ‘The Canadian Dream’ takes a nightmarish turn as he uncovers an unsightly truth in the Ontarian agricultural industry.
His quest for a better life in Canada unfolds through his own words and from his daughter’s perspective in this poignant family portrait. The film exposes the harsh exploitation and dismal working conditions Ontario’s migrant farm workers endure, while at the same time celebrating the resilience of the human spirit as it is manifested in one man’s battle for justice.
4. The Fighter – (Canada) French, with English subtitles
André-Charles is a boxer. Sports changed his life. He hopes his journey will inspire others to regain their pride and hold their heads high when facing life’s adversities.
5. Time of Insurrection – (Spain) English
In a modern take of Miguel de Unamuno’s 1930’s novel “San Martín Bueno, martir”, where a priest loses faith in God, “Times of Insurrection” tells the story of the CEO of a global corporation who starts to lose faith in capitalism after a mysterious external pressure forces him to change his company forever.
In this slick short film, we witness the CEO of a dairy corporation cause a great deal of discomfort and uneasiness in his annual shareholder’s meeting by talking about things that are ‘just not discussed’. Things like: corporate responsibility and environmental impact. It might be okay to talk about these things…but will he do anything? It’s fun to watch this scenario play out and to see how nervous it makes the shareholders. Enjoy the uneasiness for a while.
