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Oscar Winner Barbara Kopple On ‘Union Town,’ Her Third Towering Film On American Labor
Confirmed
In Short: Documentarian Barbara Kopple premiered her latest film, 'Union Town,' at the Camden Film Festival, focusing on labor struggles in New York City.
Kopple, who won an Oscar for her 1976 documentary 'Harlan County, U.S.A.,' said she initially thought the film would have a limited audience.
Union Town' follows the battle for better wages and working conditions at UPS, Amazon, and among 'deliveristas' in New York City.
The film documents the case of Victor Hidalgo, a 24-year-old man who died after being hit by a New York Fire Department vehicle while working for a pharmacy delivery company.
Kopple highlights Antonio Rosario, a veteran of a 1997 UPS strike, who serves as the Teamsters lead union organizer for Amazon workers in the northeast.
Rosario uses a bundle of sticks at the dinner table to illustrate the importance of worker solidarity.
Autlook is handling worldwide film sales for 'Union Town,' but Kopple says it's 'too soon to tell' about potential distribution.
Kopple’s latest film completes a trilogy that began with her Oscar-winning documentaries 'Harlan County, U.S.A.' and 'American Dream,' both from the 1970s and 1990s.
The film underscores the vulnerability of many workers, who are often one paycheck away from bankruptcy.
Kopple’s work once again exposes the courage of the human spirit in the face of labor struggles.
Kopple's latest film focuses on New York City's labor battles, shifting her focus from previous documentaries set in Kentucky and the Midwest.
The film highlights the importance of worker solidarity and the vulnerability of many workers in the gig economy.
What's confirmed
- Kopple, who won an Oscar for her 1976 documentary 'Harlan County, U.S.A.,' said she initially thought the film would have a limited audience.
- Union Town' follows the battle for better wages and working conditions at UPS, Amazon, and among 'deliveristas' in New York City.
- The film documents the case of Victor Hidalgo, a 24-year-old man who died after being hit by a New York Fire Department vehicle while working for a pharmacy delivery company.
- Kopple highlights Antonio Rosario, a veteran of a 1997 UPS strike, who serves as the Teamsters lead union organizer for Amazon workers in the northeast.
- Rosario uses a bundle of sticks at the dinner table to illustrate the importance of worker solidarity.
- Autlook is handling worldwide film sales for 'Union Town,' but Kopple says it's 'too soon to tell' about potential distribution.
- Kopple’s latest film completes a trilogy that began with her Oscar-winning documentaries 'Harlan County, U.S.A.' and 'American Dream,' both from the 1970s and 1990s.
- The film underscores the vulnerability of many workers, who are often one paycheck away from bankruptcy.
- Kopple’s work once again exposes the courage of the human spirit in the face of labor struggles.
- Kopple's latest film focuses on New York City's labor battles, shifting her focus from previous documentaries set in Kentucky and the Midwest.
- The film highlights the importance of worker solidarity and the vulnerability of many workers in the gig economy.
What's still developing
- “When I started making the film, I thought, ‘Oh, my parents will see it and their friends and maybe a museum will show it,’” she recalls.
- “I think that they [labor organizers] have a big fight on their hands, but I think that they’re road warriors and I feel an awful lot of hope,” Kopple tells Deadline in an interview at the Camden Opera House, where Union Town screened.
- “Tony is trying to show them the difference that if you have a lot of people together, it takes too much to break it,” Kopple explains.
- “She said, ‘I don’t want anyone to ever forget Victor,’” Kopple recounted.
- Fifty years ago, a young director named Barbara Kopple came out with her first film, a documentary she thought would be little seen.
- Kopple categorically leaves no doubt that the power divide is real, and it is getting bigger.
- Deeply invested in presenting raw, empathic stories of the unsung workers who toil to keep the American economy running, here she profiles crucial labour battles as they unfold.
- These are some of the most vulnerable members of society: They represent the bottom percentage of American citizenry.