American Factory looks at the transformation of a former GM auto plant after a Chinese corporation retools it into an auto glass manufacturer.
What excellent timing.
American Factory, which just won the Academy Award for best documentary feature, will play on the big screen Feb. 19 as part of the Social Cinema: Stories of Struggle and Change series, organized by UW-Madison’s Havens Wright Center for Social Justice.
The film, by Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar and Jeff Reichert, looks at the culture clash that ensues when a Chinese billionaire buys a former GM plant near the filmmakers’ home in Dayton, Ohio. American Factory was the first film released by the Obamas’ distribution company, Higher Ground.
A post-screening Q&A will be led by union activists Adrienne Pagac from the Office and Professional Employees International Union and Charity Schmidt and Sara Trongone, leaders with the UW-MadisonTeaching Assistants’ Association.
The series, which plays on Wednesday nights through March 11, has already screened films on youth climate change activists and voter suppression.
Upcoming films include Hungry to Learn (Feb. 26), which discusses the growing problem of food insecurity among college students; The Feeling of Being Watched (March 4), where director Assia Bendaoui investigates terrorism probes by the FBI in her Arab American community; and Roll Red Roll (March 11), a true-crime film about rape culture at an Ohio high school (Roll Red Roll can also be viewed on Netflix).
Patrick Barrett, managing director of the Havens Wright Center, believes movies are a good way to introduce audiences to critical issues. “We want to screen films that look at contemporary social topics, political topics or economic topics from a critical perspective,” says Barrett. “Quite frankly, there’s no shortage of problems out there.”
The festival hopes to engage its audience by hosting post-screening discussions led by a diverse group of facilitators. “What we’re trying to do is generate a dialogue so that people don’t just leave after the film screens, but instead use it as a means to discuss the film and how they can get involved,” says Barrett.
The festival is free and open to the public. Screenings are held at Marquee Theater in Union South, 1308 W. Dayton St.