Union (film) explained

Union
Music:Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Cinematography:Martin DiCicco
Distributor:Level Ground Productions
Runtime:100 minutes[1]
Country:United States
Language:English

Union is a 2024 American documentary film, directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing. It follows the Amazon Labor Union as they seek to unionize Amazon's JKF8 Warehouse in Staten Island.

It had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2024, and is scheduled to be released on October 18, 2024, by Level Ground Productions.

Premise

The film follows former and current workers of Amazon, as they form the Amazon Labor Union, and take on the company to form a union.

Production

In 2020, producers Samantha Curley and Mars Verrone contacted labor organizer Chris Smalls to discuss making a documentary about his efforts to organize workers at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. Curley and Verrone brought on director Brett Story after seeing her short film CamperForce, about Amazon's seasonal workforce.[2]

As Smalls and his fellow organisers formed the Amazon Labor Union and began a union drive at the warehouse, Story saw the opportunity to make a film about “a new generation of labor organizers, a generation that’s grown up entirely in the post-Reagan era of union decline and globalized corporate capital, and who would be learning, in real time, how to organize collectively and outside of mainstream union support”.[3]

Five months into production, Story invited Stephen Maing to co-direct the film.[4] Together, they followed organizing efforts on Zoom and on the ground in Staten Island, as well as internal efforts by Amazon to discourage employees from joining the union.[5] They showed the film to participants in the project, in order to vet anything that could potentially be high-risk or fireable, with all of them responding well to the film.[6] An interview with a union-buster was filmed but cut during post-production, in order to keep the film focused on the organizers.[7]

The film received grants from Catapult Film Fund, Field of Vision, International Documentary Association, Sundance Institute, NBCU Academy/NBC News Studios, Chicken & Egg Pictures and Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival[15] where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change.[16] In June 2024, it was announced Level Ground Productions would self-distribute the film, setting an October 18, 2024, release.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Union. 2024 Sundance Film Festival. December 9, 2023.
  2. Web site: Keegan . Rebecca . 2024-01-20 . Amazon Labor Doc Tells David and Goliath Battle of Our Time . 2024-04-10 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  3. Web site: Wissot . Lauren . 2024-01-22 . "The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon’": Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union - Filmmaker Magazine . 2024-04-10 . Filmmaker Magazine Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. . en-US.
  4. Web site: Amazon Labor Doc Tells David and Goliath Battle of Our Time. The Hollywood Reporter. Rebecca. Keegan. January 20, 2024. January 23, 2024.
  5. News: Horton . Adrian . 2024-01-22 . Documentary uncovers the difficult battle to unionize at Amazon . 2024-04-10 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  6. Web site: "The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon'": Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union. Filmmaker. Lauren. Wissot. January 21, 2024. January 23, 2024.
  7. Web site: 'Union' Filmmakers Talk Amazon, Labor Unions and Jeff Bezos' Possible Response to the Documentary. Variety. Addie. Morfoot. January 21, 2024. January 23, 2024.
  8. Web site: Union. Catapult Film Fund. December 9, 2023.
  9. Web site: Untitled Labor Union Documentary. Field of Vision. December 9, 2023.
  10. Web site: Untitled Labor Union Documentary. International Documentary Association. December 9, 2023.
  11. Web site: Sundance Institute Unveils 35 Documentary Projects To Receive $1.4M In Grants; 2022 Marks 20th Anniversary Of Documentary Film Program. Deadline Hollywood. Dominic. Patten. October 4, 2022. December 9, 2023.
  12. Web site: NBCU Academy, NBC News Studios Set Participants For 2nd Annual Original Voices Fellowship. Deadline Hollywood. Matt. Grobar. April 11, 2022. December 9, 2023.
  13. Web site: 2022 Chicken & Egg Recipient: Brett Story. Chicken & Egg Pictures. December 9, 2023.
  14. Web site: Hot Docs Forum names recipients of $50,000 in pitch prizes. Real Screen. Andrew. Tracy. May 5, 2022. December 9, 2023.
  15. Web site: Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun. Deadline Hollywood. Anthony. D'Alessandro. Dominic. Patten. December 6, 2023. December 9, 2023.
  16. Web site: Hipes . Anthony D'Alessandro,Patrick . D'Alessandro . Anthony . Hipes . Patrick . 2024-01-26 . Sundance Film Festival Awards: ‘In The Summers’, ‘Dìdi’, ‘Daughters’ Top Winners List . 2024-04-10 . Deadline . en-US.
  17. Web site: ‘Union,’ Award-Winning Doc About Extraordinary Bid To Organize Amazon Workers, Announces October Theatrical Release. Deadline Hollywood. Matthew. Carey. June 14, 2024. June 14, 2024.

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