Presented by
Bread Garden Market and Little Village Magazine
DIALOGUE: Filmmaker Samantha Curley in person
The Vino Vérité series features talented new voices and established filmmakers influenced by the vérité tradition in person to present their thought-provoking, chance-taking, and visually-arresting films. Each selection is paired with hand-selected wines from Bread Garden Market.
Tickets: $25 public / $20 members / $12 students. Includes wine tasting, film, hors d'oeuvres and filmmaker reception.
6:30 Hors d'oeuvres & wine tasting
7:00 Screening
8:45 Q&A + Reception with filmmaker, wine and dessert
Encore Labor Solidarity Screening
Monday, September 9, 7pm
Community Collaboration followed by panel discussion, no reception
Presented with Iowa City Federation of Labor and other local labor groups
"Capturing the ascendancy of the working class, Union is a key addition to the canon of workers’ cinema."—The Film Stage
"A vital and urgent portrait of labor organizing and its enduring possibility."—IndieWire
"It’s a documentary about the fight, one that takes the necessity of the fight as a given. That’s amply inspiring."—Hollywood Reporter
ABOUT UNION
In one of the the most important wins for labor in the new millennium, the Amazon workers of Staten Island mount a historic grassroots campaign to unionize thousands of their co-workers against one of the world's largest companies. Described by Amazon Labor Union (ALU) President Christian Smalls as the “N.W.A. of the organizing world,” the unconventional group rallies the requisite support, succeeding in organizing the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the world.
This David versus Goliath story is told with subtle attention to the grinding minutiae of the organizers' relentless work. From handing out free food — and sometimes marijuana — to endless Zoom calls, the film honors the small acts that produce massive change. Filmed with a keen eye for the scale of the fight, the film is a test and a tribute of endurance, as Smalls and the rag-tag ensemble remain unswayed in their beliefs in collective action and the dignity and power of the working-class.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Samantha Curley is an award-winning film producer and creative entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. In 2013, she Co-Founded Level Ground Collective, a 501(c)3 artist collective and production incubator creating experiments in empathy. In 2021, she Founded Level Ground Productions which she runs with her creative partner Chase Joynt. Her first feature, Framing Agnes (Kino Lorber) won the NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, as well as a 2023 GLAAD Media Award. Samantha is a graduate of Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management. She is an Impact Partners Producing Fellow, NBC Original Voices Fellow and a PGA Create Fellow.
Sundance (2024) — World Premiere
CPH:DOX (2024) — F:ACT AWARD
True / False Film Fest (2024) — Official Selection
Visions du Réel (2024) — Official Selection
