Resistance and Protest at HOME
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
HOME joins the celebration of International Workers’ Day this spring with a season of films exploring the themes of ‘resistance and protest’. A three film programme focuses on the the struggle of workers and marginalised communities across the globe, with the selection of documentary and fiction works curated by Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator: Film.
The series starts on Saturday 30 April with Super Citizen Ko, which reflects upon the impact of martial law in Taiwan and what was known as the ‘White Terror’. Directed by Wan Jen, this 1995 film explores 50 years of Taiwanese history as it follows the imprisoned character of Ko (Lin Yang), through the memories of his friend, (Chen Ko I-chen).
On Sunday 1 May, there’s a chance to see 36 to 77 from the Berwick Street Collective followed by a Q&A with collective member, Humphry Trevelyan. The follow-up to their seminal Nightcleaners, this unconventional work follows Myrtle Wardally, one of the women who participated in the nightcleaners strike. Composed from a series of time lapse portraits and audio recordings, the film reflects on her childhood in Grenada, the comradeship of the cleaners in struggle, the burdens of childbirth and childcare, and her own sense of isolation.
Resistance and Protest concludes with another Q&A screening on Monday 2 May. Director Lucy Parker will be in attendance to talk through her film Solidarity, which investigates the use of a blacklist in the construction industry as links are discovered between workplace blacklisting and undercover policing. Parker’s film brings together activists and law students and follows their meetings as they work to find a route to justice.
