Film Showings (2007-8)

The Battle of Chile

Part 1: The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie (96 minutes) examines the escalation of rightist opposition following the left’s unexpected victory in Congressional elections held in March, 1973. Finding that democracy would not stop Allende’s socialist policies, the right-wing shifted its tactics from the polls to the streets. The film follows months of activity as a variety of increasingly violent tactics are used by the right to weaken the government and provoke a crisis.

Part 2: The Coup d’Etat (88 minutes) opens with the attempted military coup of June, 1973 which is put down by troops loyal to the government. It serves as a useful dry run, however, for the final showdown, that everyone now realizes is coming. The film shows a left divided over strategy, while the right methodically lays the groundwork for the military seizure of power. The film’s dramatic concluding sequence documents the coup d’etat, including Allende’s last radio messages to the people of Chile, footage of the military assault on the presidential palace, and that evening’s televised presentation of the new military junta.

American Dream

“American Dream” is a sobering and fascinating documentary depicting the social, economic and emotional ramifications of a labor strike initiated by employees at a Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota.

Finally Got the News

‘Finally Got the News’ is a forceful, unique documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, will respond to worker’s problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.

The Revolution Will Not be Televised

(February 1, 2008) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (a.k.a. Chavez: Inside the Coup) is a 2002 documentary about the April 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt which briefly deposed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. An Irish television crew happened to be recording a documentary about Chávez during the events of April 11, 2002. Shifting focus, they followed the events as they occurred. During their filming, the crew recorded images that contradict explanations given by Chávez’s opposition, the private media, the TTTTUS State Department, and the White House. The documentary shows the coup as the result of a conspiracy between various old guard and anti-Chávez factions within Venezuela and the United States

Arna’s Children

(April 18, 2008) Arna’s Children traces the lives of Palestinian children in the refugee camp of Jenin from 1989 to 2003, during the second Intifada and after the invasion of the camp in 2002.

Panel Discussions (2008)

Michael Schwartz and IVAW

(March 28, 2008)
Michael Schwartz spoke on the Iraq war and resistance to it. A rep from Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) also gave a report back on the recent Winter Soldier hearings.

Student Activism: Then and Now - A Panel and Discussion on Rebuilding the Movement

(May 2, 2008)
How did the movement in the 1960s develop?
Why does organizing seem so difficult today?
What can we learn from student activism of the past?
What kinds of organizing are working today?
Prof. Sam Farber (Brooklyn College) - Author of a number of works on movements and social change.

Student organizers:
Tiffany Cheng - (Rutgers Against the War)
Jason I. - (The Rank-and-File Youth Project)
Susan Valentine – (NYU GSOC/UAW 2110)