Winnie Wright, Age 11
Winnie, the daughter of a steel worker and a teacher lives in Gage Park, a Chicago neighborhood that is changing from white to black. Her family struggles with racism, inflation and a threatened strike, as Winnie learns what it means to grow up white, working class, and female. The film was created by Kartemquin collective […]
Trick Bag
Gang members, Vietnam vets, and young factory workers from Chicago’s neighborhoods tell of their personal experience with racism: who gets hurt and who profits. The film was brought to Kartemquin by Peter Kuttner, and credits are shared between Kartemquin, Rising Up Angry, and Columbia College Chicago. Original 16mm print restored in 2011 thanks to a […]
Taylor Chain I: A Story in a Union Local
Taylor Chain I tells the gritty realities of a seven-week strike at a small Indiana chain factory during 1973-74. Volatile union meetings and tension-filled interactions on the picket line provide an inside view of the tensions and conflicts inherent to labor negotiations. Due to a lack of funds and a fire at Kartemquin which necessitated […]
Viva la Causa
Not just a colorful record of the making of a mural in Chicago’s Pilsen community led by Ray Patlán, this film traces the mural movement of the mid-1970’s back to murals in Mexico. Different people view the mural and reflect on its meaning for themselves as Latinos.
Breaking Social
All societies are based on the idea of a social contract. We are told that if we work hard, if we treat others with respect, if we play by the rules, we will be rewarded. But then there’s the rule breakers. Those who make use of tax havens and reap profits without paying back to […]
Cinema Politica Acquires THIS STAINED DAWN for Distribution
Cinema Politica acquires up THIS STAINED DAWN – Anam Abbas standout feature directorial-debut that follows Karachi’s feminist movement in preparation for the Pakistan’s multi-city Aurat March.
Lesbiana: A Parallel Revolution
A parallel, lesbian-feminist revolution was born out of the women’s and civil rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s. Filmmaker Myriam Fougère’s takes us on a road trip through the United States and Canada as she revisits the activists of the time who sparked this revolution to define their own culture. As active second-wave feminists, […]
Dragged
DRAGGED explores the wonderfully weird world of Montreal drag. The project focuses on the lack of female-bodied visibility in the mainstream portrayal of drag, namely RuPaul’s Drag Race. It consists of 10 interviews with a diverse cross-section of this community in Montreal. The film premiered on August 30th, 2019 in Montreal also in collaboration with […]
The Choir Boys!
For more than 125 years, meals have been served for a large number of homeless people in the reception centre L‘accueil Bonneau in Montreal, Canada. A few years ago, a choir of around twenty men was formed from the regular clientele of the centre. Initially, the choir sang and played mainly in the streets and […]
THE GOLDEN THREAD
Outside Kolkata a few jute mills crank on, virtually unchanged since the industrial revolution. Powered by steam and sweat, work is a dance to the dictate of profit and century-old machines. The Golden Thread follows the weft and warp of jute work alongside the creative labour of the film’s own making. In this near dystopian […]
This Stained Dawn
Karachi’s feminists organise a woman’s march, coming up against Pakistan’s radical religious right as “my body, my choice” becomes a controversial slogan that holds the country’s imagination in its grip. Filmmaker Anam Abbas follows the march’s organisers as they negotiate a deeply surveilled, paranoia-inducing, and often physically violent space in the hopes of spurring a […]
Labour, Art and Activism
The newly-released Magnus Isacsson Collection features a selection of key works and classics from this important Canadian director touching on topics of labour, art, and activism.
Union Trouble: A Cautionary Tale
“Union Trouble – a cautionary tale ” is a dramatic story about a historic attempt to unionize the employees of the well-known hamburger chain McDonald’s, known all over the world for its anti-union policies. The film follows the battle undertaken by a small group of employees of one restaurant near Montreal, in an attempt to […]
Cinema Politica Acquires INNOCENCE for Distribution
Cinema Politica is thrilled to announce the Canadian premiere of INNOCENCE by Academy Awards nominated director Guy Davidi at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival.
Cinema Politica Acquires NOTES ON DISPLACEMENT for Distribution
Cinema Politica announces its new acquisition of Notes on Displacement. The second feature length film by Khaled Jarrar.
Notes on Displacement
The news is full of images of overcrowded boats and vast tent camps. But how much do we really know about what refugees are going through? Notes on Displacement takes a deep dive by following a single family on a grueling journey, destination Germany. Their fear, disorientation, and solidarity is palpable. Nadira, an elderly Palestinian, […]