"Reel Work" The 7th Annual Santa Cruz May Day Labor Film Festival

Highlights of this years' Reel Work festival include “The Power of Song,” a film about the legendary folk singer Pete Seeger. Described by the New York Times as an “affectionate, detailed portrait of its subject” The Power of Song will screen on Thursday, May 1 at the Del Mar Theater at 7 pm. The film features interviews with musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Maine, and Ronnie Gilbert. Film maker Jim Brown will be on hand to discuss the making of “The Power of Song.”

"Labor protest is not dead. Nor is it futile,” is the way that the _New York Times_ describes “*Made in L.A. /Hecho en Los Angeles/,*” one of the winners of this year’s prestigious Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film & Digital Media. “Congress may not be able to decide how to process the nation's illegal immigrants,” continues the _Times_, “but the film understands that they're simply here, an integral component of the economy. Rather, the documentary is about basic human dignity." We will screen “Made in L.A. on Saturday, April 26, 1:00 pm at the Calvary Episcopal Church at 532 Center Street in downtown Santa Cruz. Film maker Almudena Carracedo will be on hand to discuss the making of the film.

“*911: Dust and Deceit*,” by Penny Little exposes the environmental disaster of 9/11 in New York through interviews with scientists, government workers, and the heroes and victims of the dust which permeated the air after 911. Firefighters, cleanup crews, and NYC residents were told shortly after 9/11 that the “Air was safe to breathe.” They were lied to. A leader of the Uniformed Firefighters Association lamented, “We did a very good job of taking care of the dead after September 11. But we’re doing a very bad job of taking care of the living.” Join us on Monday, April 28 at Community Television of Santa Cruz County in downtown Santa Cruz for a 7pm screening and discussion led by film maker Penny Little.

These are only three of many exciting films this year! For a complete schedule visit: http://www.reelwork.org

Reel Work brings together award-winning documentary film producers/workers/activists/students and the public with the goal of increasing community awareness of the central role of work in our lives, to discuss economic and global justice issues and to bring alive the history and culture of the labor movement in the US and abroad. We inspire participants to join in the struggle for worker rights locally, nationally and globally and to promote social justice activism and international solidarity. This year's sustainers include the Monterey Bay Labor Council, the University of California Miguel Contreras Labor Studies Development Fund, Community Television of Santa Cruz County, Community Printers, Nickelodeon Theatre, and many local unions.

Admission to the film showings will continue to be by voluntary donation. Publicity stills, bios and interviews with the principle speakers and film producers are available. For a full schedule, updates, and a partial list of sponsors go to http://www.reelwork.org.