Union (film)

Union
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Samantha Curley
  • Mars Verrone
CinematographyMartin DiCicco
Edited by
Music byRobert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Production
companies
Distributed byLevel Ground Productions
Release dates
  • January 21, 2024 (2024-01-21) (Sundance)
  • October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$47,883[2]

Union is a 2024 American documentary film, directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing. It follows the Amazon Labor Union as they seek to unionize Amazon's JKF8 Warehouse in Staten Island.

It had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2024, and was released on October 18, 2024, by Level Ground Productions.

Premise

The film follows former and current workers of Amazon, as they form the Amazon Labor Union, and take on the company to form a union.

Production

In 2020, producers Samantha Curley and Mars Verrone contacted labor organizer Chris Smalls to discuss making a documentary about his efforts to organize workers at Amazon's JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island. Curley and Verrone brought on director Brett Story after seeing her short film CamperForce, about Amazon's seasonal workforce.[3]

As Smalls and his fellow organisers formed the Amazon Labor Union and began a union drive at the warehouse, Story saw the opportunity to make a film about “a new generation of labor organizers, a generation that’s grown up entirely in the post-Reagan era of union decline and globalized corporate capital, and who would be learning, in real time, how to organize collectively and outside of mainstream union support”.[4]

Five months into production, Story invited Stephen Maing to co-direct the film.[5] Together, they followed organizing efforts on Zoom and on the ground in Staten Island, as well as internal efforts by Amazon to discourage employees from joining the union.[6] They showed the film to participants in the project, in order to vet anything that could potentially be high-risk or fireable, with all of them responding well to the film.[7] An interview with a union-buster was filmed but cut during post-production, in order to keep the film focused on the organizers.[8]

The film received grants from Catapult Film Fund, Field of Vision, International Documentary Association, Sundance Institute, NBCU Academy/NBC News Studios, Chicken & Egg Pictures and Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival[16] where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change.[17] In June 2024, it was announced Level Ground Productions would self-distribute the film, setting an October 18, 2024, release.[18] The filmmakers opted for a self-distributed release after distributors failed to acquire the film, with some stating they loved the film but unable to distribute due to an ongoing relationship with Amazon MGM Studios.[19][20]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Union". 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Union". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Keegan, Rebecca (2024-01-20). "Amazon Labor Doc Tells David and Goliath Battle of Our Time". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  4. ^ Wissot, Lauren (2024-01-22). ""The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon'": Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union - Filmmaker Magazine". Filmmaker Magazine | Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  5. ^ Keegan, Rebecca (January 20, 2024). "Amazon Labor Doc Tells David and Goliath Battle of Our Time". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Horton, Adrian (2024-01-22). "Documentary uncovers the difficult battle to unionize at Amazon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  7. ^ Wissot, Lauren (January 21, 2024). ""The Good, Bad and Ugly of Organizing Against Amazon'": Stephen Maing and Brett Story on their Sundance-debuting Union". Filmmaker. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Morfoot, Addie (January 21, 2024). "'Union' Filmmakers Talk Amazon, Labor Unions and Jeff Bezos' Possible Response to the Documentary". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Union". Catapult Film Fund. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Untitled Labor Union Documentary". Field of Vision. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "Untitled Labor Union Documentary". International Documentary Association. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Patten, Dominic (October 4, 2022). "Sundance Institute Unveils 35 Documentary Projects To Receive $1.4M In Grants; 2022 Marks 20th Anniversary Of Documentary Film Program". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 11, 2022). "NBCU Academy, NBC News Studios Set Participants For 2nd Annual Original Voices Fellowship". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "2022 Chicken & Egg Recipient: Brett Story". Chicken & Egg Pictures. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Tracy, Andrew (May 5, 2022). "Hot Docs Forum names recipients of $50,000 in pitch prizes". Real Screen. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Hipes, Anthony D'Alessandro,Patrick; D'Alessandro, Anthony; Hipes, Patrick (2024-01-26). "Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'In The Summers', 'Dìdi', 'Daughters' Top Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Carey, Matthew (June 14, 2024). "'Union,' Award-Winning Doc About Extraordinary Bid To Organize Amazon Workers, Announces October Theatrical Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  19. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (October 18, 2024). "A Doc On How Amazon Workers Unionized Drew Critics' Praise, But No Major Takers to Distribute". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  20. ^ DiBenedetto, Chase (October 19, 2024). "To hell with the gatekeepers: Amazon 'Union' documentary and the future of film". Mashable. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Union". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Union". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 20 October 2024.