Month of January, 2009

Last December marked the celebration of the Second International Documentary Film Festival of Uruguay, ATLANTIDOC 2008 - based in Atlántida with a branch in Montevideo. The jury, Eduardo Galeano, Jorge Rocca (Argentina) y Sérgio Sanz (Brasil), "decided unanimously to give... a Special Mention to Almudena Carracedo's Made in L.A. (USA) for its eloquent portrayal during 4 years of a little conflict that expresses a bigger drama" The jury also gave Made in L.A. the Award to Best Editing!

I have to say I've been reading Eduardo Galeano's books since I was 20, so this recognition means a lot to me...!

On December 16th, twenty-four days after our screening of Made in L.A. in Ashland, Oregon, the City Council passed "a resolution for a sweatshop free procurement policy". The Rogue IMC reports: "City of Ashland staff have six months to come up with the policies and procedures to insure a ‘no sweatshop procurement policy' and bring it back to City Council. The city currently spends $80,000 a year for uniform and garment purchases according to City Administrator Martha Bennett." We congratulate our partners at Souther Oregon Jobs with Justice, Ashland Sweatfree Campaign and all the peopoe who made this possible. And, of course: Congratulations Ashland!!!

To read more details and to watch a streaming video of the Ashland City Council's debate visit the IMC's website.

In the fall, the Fashion-oriented blog "39th and Broadway" featured a story about Made in L.A., which we just spotted. It's great to see the film moving through the fashion blogosphere and making an impact on readers concerned with where and how their clothes are made...

"Working in the NYC garment center today when you hear the word ‘sweatshop' it may evoke images of decrepit factories in Mexico, China or Bangladesh but that is not always the case. As many of you know the offices you are currently in were at one time factories and, prior to the Garment and Textile Union, would have been considered sweatshops. Where you are now clicking away on your Mac a young woman was once hunched over a sewing machine. That is why we should all have our eyes open to the exploitation of workers in our industry. In the US, sweatshops are rare but not extinct, as has been proven by Forever 21 and its sub-par working conditions in California. Now a group of filmmakers have made a documentary focusing on these sweatshops and the women in them. This is a must see for anyone working in fashion..."

Read more!

 

I was very moved by Random Hero's blog posting about Made in L.A....

"The movie pretty much chronicles three woman over three years as they struggle to balance their lives and continue the fight for their rights in the garment factories. It's powerful what they all go through, the lives they live, families they support. I got teary eyed whenever they would focus on their families because they reminded me so much of my own family. The struggles we went through may not be the same as theirs, but it certainly mirrors them.

"This really is an amazing documentary that opens more windows and shows the struggles undocumented immigrants face and can over come when they know they have rights, unite and fight the powers that be. That's what I loved most about the documentary. In fact it won an Emmy last year so I'm not alone in that view. Any Dreamie can relate to their struggle and like me see some of themselves and their families in the people in the documentary."

Read more here!

A year and a half after its completion, Made in L.A. continues to premiere at festivals all over the world. In the coming months Made in L.A. will have festival premieres in Czech Republic, Tunisia and Argentina, as well as new screenings in Spain, Mexico, Israel and Canada.

Made in L.A. has also been selected as part of the French our of the Paris International Human Rights Film Festival, which will stop in 5-6 cities in France.

Stay tuned - we're adding new screenings every week!

We're happy to announce that Made in L.A. has happily received funding from The Fledging Fund and from The Diane Middleton Foundation to continue our audience engagement work. There's much, much work still to be done and we look forward to continuing to share all of the film's accomplishments with you. Thanks so much to our funders, and to everyone who has supported us all along the way!

Change.org's blog, "Poverty in America", has released a list of the 10 top videos on poverty in the US, including Made in L.A.: "This collection of award-winning documentaries, news stories, and advocacy campaign videos illustrate the range of faces and issues of domestic poverty. Portrayals include Latina immigrants in Los Angeles organizing for worker protections; two New Orleanians recovering from the impact of Hurricane Katrina; gentrification conflict in Columbus, Ohio; and educational intervention in the lives at at-risk boys in Baltimore". Read more at Change.org blog.