Long Island Jobs with Justice Film Screening @ Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre
Wednesday, February 8 at 6pm
BREAD AND ROSES
Film Followed by Panel, Discussion, and Reception
Bread and Roses is a powerful drama, directed by Ken Loach, about the plight of seemingly invisible office cleaners in contemporary L.A. who often earn as little as $6 a day without benefits, co-presented by Cinema Arts Centre and Long Island Jobs with Justice, in conjunction with their “We Are All Immigrants” campaign. www.li-jwj.org
Adrien Brody and Pilar Padilla star in Ken Loach’s inspirational portrait of a young female service worker, who sought to organize her workforce in Los Angeles, California. The film highlights the organizing efforts of SEIU’s “justice for janitors” campaign and takes the viewer through the emotional journey of a lively organizing campaign.
Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barely) directs this powerful drama about the plight of seemingly invisible office cleaners in contemporary L.A. who often earn as little as $6 a day without benefits. The film opens as Maya, a young Mexican lass, is reuniting with her older sister Rosa in L.A. after a harrowing cross-border journey. Rosa sets her sister up first with a job as a barmaid, which Maya soon quits after getting repeatedly groped -- and then as a janitor. When her boss demands one month's salary as "commission," Maya happens upon Sam Shapiro (Adrien Brody), a muckraking lawyer and union agitator. This film, which was screened in competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, is remarkable for its prescience – it was shown a month after a massive janitor's strike ground L.A.'s business community to a halt. UK, 2000, 110 min.
“Ken Loach's film tells the story of Maya (Pilar Padilla), an illegal immigrant from Mexico who becomes involved in a campaign to unionize the janitors in a sleek Los Angeles high-rise. The movie is unabashedly political, but Mr. Loach's good-humored, compassionate realism and Ms. Padilla's bouyant performance lift the film above its didactic impulses. And these impulses should not be dismissed: the film has a lot to teach about dignity, solidarity, and working conditions in the age of globalization. “-- A.O. Scott, NY Times
Since 1973, presenting the best U.S., International, Independent & Repertory films on 3 screens 365 days of the year, in a comfortable ambience including the sculpture garden & The Sky Room Café, the Cinema Arts Centre is located at 423 Park Ave (just south of 25a), Huntington, NY 11743 (25 miles east of New York City). Admission for regular programs: $10.00. Discounts for members, seniors, students & children. CAC is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. For further information call 631-423-7611. To sign up for weekly email schedule: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Membership and Schedule: www.cinemaartscentre.org/ The mission of the Cinema Arts Centre is to bring the best in cinematic artistry to Long Island, and use the power of film to expand the awareness and consciousness of our community
