In 1926, 16,000 workers in Passaic, New Jersey shut down their textile mills for over a year, and organised an agitprop documentary to accompany their action in realtime. After a melodramatic prologue dramatising the struggles of a representative fictional family, through reportage and reenactment the landmark film documents the ongoing strike and the workers’ move to unionisation. Produced by the Communist International affiliated International Workers Aid, cameramen included Sam Brody and Lester Balog, key figures in the future Workers Film and Photo League. A remarkable social documentary precedent.
Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York
