The films will be screened at the Laurentian University Arts Building, room A226 at 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday. The Sudbury and District Labour Council and the Laurentian University Labour Studies Program are sponsoring the event, and admission is free.
Fifty different locations across Canada are screening films this weekend as part of the Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLIFF).
Four films are being screened in Sudbury: Dear John, Toxic Tresspass, Northland: Long Journey, and Poor No More. A fifth film may be screened if it arrives in Sudbury on time.
Laurentian University political science professor John Peters is involved with bringing the festival to Sudbury. He said union leaders and activists from major local unions have been invited, though many have been preoccupied with recent labour meetings here and in Toronto, he admitted. There may be discussions of the issues in the films afterwards, each day.
He also expects a number of students, including his own, to attend.
“These days students enjoy seeing films during class time, but I hope some will come out this weekend,” he said.
“Dear John outlines what happens to a city, Welland, when its major multinational corporate employer, John Deere, leaves. Another, Toxic Trespass, is about the environmental problems Sarnia and Windsor have faced when dealing with the legacy of major industries located there over the past decades," Peters explained.
Toxic Trespass features the view of environmental activists and the role of the public health department in dealing with areas of potential contamination.
“Then there is a film, Northland: Long Journey, about the the experience of a Canadian miner working in a northern mine site,” said Peters.
Saturday Nov. 28:
- Poor No More (2009, 45 minutes), directed by Bert Deveaux
- Dear John (2009, 33 minutes), directed by Mark Lammert
- Northland: Long Journey (2007, 16 minutes), directed by Edie Steiner
Sunday Nov. 29:
- Toxic Tresspass (2007, 81 minutes), directed by Barri Cohen
Another short film, Six Weeks of Solidarity, about the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, may be screened as well if received in time, added Peters.
Descriptions of each film can be found at http://labourstudies.laurentian.ca. More information about the festival is at www.labourfilms.ca.
