Post COVID, we are excited and proud to once again host the Canadian Labour International Film Festival (CLiFF) at our YEU Office in Whitehorse.
It remains CLiFF's vision that working people be able to tell their own stories in their own words and in their own images. This spectacular labour-oriented film festival gives great insight into the world of work, and the people who do it. Celebrating its 14th year, CLiFF is the world's first National film festival, with screenings held across Canada throughout the month of November.
At YEU, we invite you to attend our free Film Screening event at the Union Hall on 2nd Avenue. The evening will begin with a brief introduction, followed by several short films, an intermission, and will conclude with the film Sugar on the Weaver's Chair (see below for trailer).
All the films listed below will be shown in one large screening room, so you won’t miss a thing! Everyone is welcome and our facility is wheelchair accessible.
Please arrive EARLY for a prompt start. Yes, there will be popcorn! :)
Act 1:
Hands of an Elder:
Dinah Sam is an artist from the Cree community of Chisasibi in the James Bay region of Quebec. She is passionate about her Cree traditions and her art. This is her first film and is about the importance of Cree culture in an ever-changing world. The film focuses on Cree elders making snowshoes and describing their work.
The Unmasking of Medical Inadmission:
Have you ever considered the amount of work it takes to immigrate to Canada? Applying to immigrate is a form of labour: it requires time, effort, intention, skill and money. This film about immigration application work tells the stories of Martha, Winnie and Stella. As prospective immigrants to Canada, they are tagged as being “abnormal” (to use the state’s term) through the immigration medical examination and therefore face higher barriers and discrimination during the immigration process. Themes include the criminalization of HIV, and a critical look at the idea of “good immigrants.”
Made in Paquachin:
Brother and sisters, they have been working together for the last 20 years. Alva Bob, Iona Misheal and Virgil Bob enjoy each other’s company while doing what they do best: make traditional, handmade products. All three siblings were born in the Pauquachin First Nation and want to pass down their knowledge to their grandkids in hope that they will pursue the tradition.
See us Come Together:
See Us Come Together is an amateur documentary following the members of the Optodev Workers Union, tracing their story of forming their union before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. When factories were forced to close operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, an ophthalmic lens workers’ union ensured mechanisms to protect their workers, with the ultimate goal of changing the culture of labour in their factory. The documentary brings to focus what is essential to keep a country running in times of crisis. While the pandemic turned the spotlight on essential and frontline workers, what was essential to the workers of Optodev was their union.
Umbrella:
This fictional film follows Alberto as he navigates a world not set-up to accommodate him. He undertakes his day-to-day with much effort, and is often met with discomfort, annoyance, and sometimes hostility. This film portrays a fictionalization of living and working with a functional disability. It’s charming and effective in communicating daily struggles of workers who face barriers to full workplace participation. It’s also a reminder that anyone could have an “umbrella.”
Act 2:
Sugar on the Weaver's Chair:
SUTRINGAH, is the wife of a palm sugar tapper and faces economic hardship when her husband is paralyzed due to a workplace accident. Sutringah reevaluates her role as a woman, a wife and a breadwinner. YATI, a woman with a disability, worked all her life for her family’s business. Her idealism conflicts with her father’s traditional views of the business. She tries forging her own path by taking a job at a garment factory where new limits are imposed on her. MARIA, is a member of a group of widows who work as traditional weavers. When they become competitive with male dominated retailers, they are forced to redefine their work by passing along the weaving tradition to their local youth. This is story of three Indonesian women redefining their destinies.