Black Sugar

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013: the Dominican Republic's Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson's new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.

The 20th century has seen the creation of colossal wealth and exploding economies. But the days of industry providing mass employment are over. In the global economy, human resources are being replaced more and more by technology. We are moving from a mass labour force to an elite corps concentrated in the knowledge sector. Will this change result in a sort of economic apartheid in which a third of humanity is made redundant? Will this revolution mean the end of work as we know it? For Man Must Work raises crucial questions and suggests rethinking the future. Focusing on situations in Canada, France and Mexico, the film shows how living and working conditions are deteriorating for many people. Besides personal stories, we also hear from experts such as Vivianne Forrester, author of The Economic Horror; Jeremy Rifkin, American economist and author of The End of Work; sociologist Ricardo Petrella; Ignacio Ramonet, editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique; and Jacques Attali, author of Dictionary of the 21st Century and former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They have no illusions--they think the 21st century is getting off to a very bad start. Some subtitles.

North China Factory gives the audience a chance to see a factory community in China where over six thousand workers process, spin and weave raw cotton into ninety million yards of high-quality cloth per year. Also seen are the workers' residential, social, recreational and educational facilities, all of which are located on factory property. Highlights of the film are the retirement and wedding ceremonies, in which factory management plays a major part. The film is an engrossing study of a lifestyle that is very different from that of the Western world.