RTF MFA Thesis Film, Dir. Heather Courtney, 2001
Synopsis:
Through the words of immigrant workers and the families they’ve left behind, Los Trabajadores /The Workers tells the stories of workers at an Austin, Texas day labor site. It places their struggles and contributions in the context of the City’s economic development, and reveals the impact of globalization on their lives. TRT = 48 min.
Screenings:
SXSW, Austin, TX, winner of Audience Award
Cine Las Americas, Austin, TX
CineSol, South Padre, TX
The Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration at the U.S. State Department
New York International Latino Film Festival
Great Plains Film Festival, Lincoln, NE, winner of Humanities Award
National Conference for the National Network of Day Labor Organizing, Los Angeles
Fundraiser, American Friends Service Committee, Denver, Colorado
Cine Acción, San Francisco
Cinematexas International Film Festival, Austin, TX, “Best of Show”
Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
Ojai (California) International Film Festival
DocuFest, International Documentary Association Award-Winners Showcase, Los Angeles
CineFestival, San Antonio, TX
San Diego Latino Film Festival
Chicago International Latino Film Festival
La Casa de Cultural, Reynosa, Mexico
Next Frame Touring Festival of International Student Film and Video
The Bahia International Film Festival, Bahia, Brazil
The Seoul, Korea International Labor Film Festival
The Uruguay XX International Film Festival
production still
Broadcast on:
PBS Program “The Territory” – Texas stations, 2002
PBS Program Independent Lens, 2003
Award received:
Audience Award, SXSW, 2001
Director bio:
Heather Courtney is a filmmaker, cinematographer and photographer based in Austin, Texas. LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE, which uses cross-border video letters to tell the immigration story from the perspective of the women left behind in Mexico, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2006, screened at the South by Southwest International Film Festival (SXSW) and numerous other festivals around the world, and was funded by a Fulbright and grant from the Independent Television Service (ITVS). Heather also organized over 20 grassroots screenings with churches, schools, and community centers all over Texas. In Fall 2006, LETTERS was broadcast on over 60 PBS stations across the country.
LOS TRABAJADORES/ THE WORKERS, won the Audience Award at SXSW in 2001, and was broadcast nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens in 2003. She recently produced the Texas segment of a national PBS documentary on the health insurance crisis, set to air in Fall 2008.
Prior to receiving her graduate degree in film (2000), Heather spent eight years writing and photographing for the United Nations and several refugee and immigrant rights organizations, including in the Rwandan refugee camps after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
More about Los Trabajadores.
All content on this page courtesy of Heather Courtney, and may not be copied, reproduced or otherwise redistributed without express permission. Info last updated 3/11/08.
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