Working Films is partnering with Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, Tennessee NAACP, Tennessee Education Association, Common Cause, The Coalition for the Organizational Protection of People and Equal Rights and United for a Fair Economy to launch Together Tennessee, a screening series that will bring award-winning documentaries to six cities across the state this October. The series marks the beginning of a long range collaborative campaign to advance social and economic justice in Tennessee.
Screenings will be free and open to the public and will be shown in: Nashville (Citizen Koch), Memphis (The Hand That Feeds), Knoxville (American Teacher), Chattanooga (Inequality for All), Jackson (Freedom Summer), and Johnson City (Blood on the Mountain). The participatory film tour will educate communities on the impacts of money in politics, an unfair tax system that burdens the poor, and on cuts to the state budget that are eliminating social safety nets and defunding public education. These issues will be spotlighted in the films and discussed in interactive post-screening programs designed to offer a forum for community members to share their perspectives, identify common ground, discuss potential solutions to the problems at hand, and become involved with the organizations leading the charge for change.
Working Films is coordinating the Together Tennessee film tour with our national partner, United for A Fair Economy.
Below is a list of screenings and clips of the films that will featured, organized by city.
Johnson City: Blood on the Mountain: Tuesday October 14th 2014, 7pm.
Holston Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 136 Bob Jobe Rd, Gray, TN 37615
Blood on the Mountain focuses on the environmental and economic injustice and corporate control in West Virginia and its rippling effect on all American workers. This film tells the story of a hard-working people who have historically had limited choices and have never benefited fairly from the rich natural resources of their land. This is a works in progress screening.
Memphis: The Hand That Feeds: Wednesday October 15th 2014, 6pm.
The University of Memphis, 3720 Alumni Ave, Memphis, TN 38152
The Hand That Feeds trailer from Robin Blotnick on Vimeo.
Shy sandwich-maker Mahoma and his undocumented immigrant coworkers set out to end abusive conditions at a New York restaurant chain. This epic power struggle turns a single city block into a battlefield in America’s new wage wars.
Nashville: Citizen Koch: Thursday October 16th 2014, 7pm.
United Auto Workers Headquarters, 6207 Centennial Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
Set against the rise of the Tea Party in the aftermath of the US Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, a citizen uprising to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker collides with the Tea Party-aligned “Americans for Prosperity,” a group founded and lavishly financed by two of the world’s richest men —David and Charles Koch. As Republican working class voters find themselves in the crosshairs of their own party and its billionaire backers, they are forced to choose sides.
Jackson: Freedom Summer: Thursday October 16th 2014, 6pm.
Tennessee NAACP Headquarters: 118 N Church St, Jackson, TN 38301
Freedom Summer (Trailer) from Firelight Media on Vimeo.
A look back at the summer of 1964, when more than 700 student activists took segregated Mississippi by storm, registering voters, creating freedom schools and establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Chattanooga: Inequality for All: Friday October 17th 2014, 7pm.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University Center Auditorium, 642 E 5th St., Chattanooga, TN 37403
Inequality for All is an intimate portrait of a man whose lifelong goal has been “protecting those who are unable to protect themselves.” Reich suggests that the massive consolidation of wealth by a precious few threatens the viability of the American workforce and the foundation of democracy itself.
Knoxville: American Teacher: Monday October 20th 2014, 5:30pm.
Burlington Library, 4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37914
Weaving interviews of policy experts and startling facts with the lives and careers of four teachers, American Teacher tells the collective story by and about those closest to the issues in our educational system — the 3.2 million teachers who spend every day in classrooms across our country.
