Radical Reels

Screenings Made in Bangladesh and In My Blood It Runs have been made possible with the support of Take One Action. Take One Action nurtures communal exploration of the stories, ideas and questions at the heart of positive social change. Through film screenings, conversation and enquiry, we bring people together to inspire a fairer, more sustainable and more fulfilling world, in Scotland and beyond our borders.

Sitting Tight Documentary + Q&A

Screening as part of ‘Women, Activism, Archive and Heritage’

Sun 06 Aug, 6:00 – 7:30pm

The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ

Ticketed but free

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/672178813927

Join us for a screening of ‘Sitting Tight,’ a documentary made in 2022 to celebrate the story of the Lee Jeans Factory Sit-in. In Greenock, 1981, amid fears the Lee Jeans factory was to close, staff barricaded themselves inside whilst negotiations regarding their jobs took place. The sit-in lasted 7 months, during which time local Greenockians, as well as the wider labour and trade union communities, banded together to support the workers and their families. The documentary tells the story of the women involved, whilst also including multifaceted material created by the local community during the wider heritage project facilitated by arts charity, RIG Arts. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with researcher Rhia Laing.

Glasgow Welcomes Refugees

Screening of a documentary by filmmaker José Maria Martinelli

Organised by Stand Up to Racism

Fri 04 Aug, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Dixon Halls, 656 Cathcart Rd, Glasgow G42 8AA

Ticketed but free

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/672135815317

The Battle of Kenmure Street that won a historic victory stopping the deportations of two of our neighbours didn’t come out of the blue. Before it, a strong tradition of solidarity with refugees had been forged over decades in this city. This documentary by filmmaker José Maria Martinelli features interviews with founding members of the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees Margaret Woods and Jock Morris recounting how it all started. Join us to remember that when politicians and the media created a climate of fear, but campaigners defeated deportations and racist attacks with solidarity and organisation. We can do so again!

In My Blood It Runs

Screening following ‘Anti-racism and Education’ Talk

Thur 10 Aug, 7:30 – 9:00pm

The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ

Tickets on a sliding scale

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/672170719717

In My Blood It Runs (dir. Maya Newell, Dujuan Hoosan, Carol Turner, Megan Hoosan, James Mawson, Margaret Anderson, Jimmy Mawson | 2019 | 84min | 8+)
Critically acclaimed documentary exposing Australia’s systemic racism, told through the eyes of charismatic 10-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy, Dujuan and his family. An intimate story of struggle, strength and love.
Dujuan is a 10-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy from Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in Australia. Thanks to his mother and grandmother’s guidance, he speaks three languages, is a child-healer and an accomplished hunter. Though Dujuan is highly intelligent and sensitive, he is “failing” in school, where his wisdom and strengths are not valued. He seems disengaged and bored; his frustration takes a toll on his self esteem. He starts skipping school and staying out late – and faces increasing scrutiny from welfare officers and the police. As the age of criminal responsibility is just 10 in Australia, the threat of juvenile detention looms (100% of the inmates in Alice Springs’ juvenile detention centres are Aboriginal)… But as soon as Dujuan is “on country,” away from the city, he ponders his future and, somewhere in between, finds space to dream. Filmed in direct collaboration with Dujuan and his family, this striking documentary illustrates their fight to decolonise the school system and develop a curriculum that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands people to determine and lead their own education.
Content notes: Contains depictions of racism, colonialism and state violence (incl. against young people). Contains discussions of substance abuse, suicide ideation.
Access: The film will be screened with descriptive subtitles.

Made in Bangladesh

Screening as part of Repair Cafe x Rags to Riches Takeover

Sat 12 Aug, 6:00 – 8:00pm

The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ

Tickets on a sliding scale

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/672174370637

Made in Bangladesh (dir. Rubaiyat Hossain | 2019 | 95min | 12+) Logline: A young Bangladeshi garment worker discovers the power of activism on a journey towards collective liberation and empowerment.
Shimu works as a seamstress in one of the many thousand garment factories that produce Bangladesh’s most valuable export commodities: the impossibly cheap clothes sold by fast fashion brands such as H&M, Uniqlo, Zara or Primark. When a fire results in the death of a co-worker, Shimu’s outrage at the unsafe working conditions she and her friends labour under threatens to fizzle into powerless anger – until she comes into contact with a local women’s rights organiser. Invigorated by Shimu’s determination and a collective sense of purpose, the workers defy management threats and their husbands’ disapproval to form a union. Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain’s vibrant and hopeful film was informed by hundreds of interviews with female garment workers. Shimu’s story pays tribute to their struggle against the constraints of their domestic and public lives – while Made in Bangladesh presents an impassioned, beautifully crafted exposé of exploitative labour practices and the global economic forces that fuel them.
Content notes: Contains scenes of violent intimidation, references to sexual violence and domestic abuse. Access: The film will be screened with descriptive subtitles

Radical Reels Trail

Sun 13th Aug, 1:00 – 4:00pm

As part of our Radical Reels programme, this year we have curated a selection of short films made by community groups Unity Sisters and Romano Lav to be screened in various locations across Govanhill to coincide with the annual Govanhill Street Music Festival. Pop by between the hours of 1pm-4pm and if you’re lucky you might even meet the stars of the films in-person!

‘April 17th’ (2022, 5 min) by Romano Lav

Greater Govanhill Newsroom, 82 Bowman St Glasgow G42 8LF

Access: The venue is wheelchair accessible, but there is no accessible toilet.
When there’s a party in Govanhill, a neighbour learns a valuable lesson.The premiere of a short film made by local Roma young people with Romano Lav as part of the Govanhill Baths’ Culture Collective project, under the guidance of local filmmakers Meray Diner and Ciaran Pasi.

‘It Will Start With Me’ by Glasgow Centre for Population Health (2023, 9 min)

MILK Cafe, 452 Victoria Rd, Glasgow G42 8YU

Access: MILK Café is a small ground floor café which has no lip on the door. Unfortunately, it is unsuitable for wheelchair access and facilities due to limited venue capacity and lack of accessible toilets.
In 2021-2022, a group of New Scots women took part in ‘Our Rights, Our Communities’, a peer advocacy project funded by the New Scots Integration Delivery Project, with support from MILK Café, Unity Sisters and GBCT. Six of the women then delivered an evaluation of the project. They produced an animation outlining their findings, and a short documentary, ‘It will start with me’, about their journey as peer researchers. The short film describes the research skills they developed, the challenges they faced and the value of this work for them. Both films were funded by GCPH.