Workers Film Festival returns to Digital Gym

May Day! May Day! The second annual Workers Film Festival returns to the Media Arts Center Digital Gym starting this Friday. No heavy lifting required: the mission of this weekend’s three-day celebration of labor is to inspire folks through art, music, and history.

In addition to the 12 films being screened, the festival aims to “share the legacy of labor’s struggles of the past, support the advancement of worker’s rights, encourage workplace democracy and worker empowerment, increase civic engagement in underrepresented communities, and act in solidarity with all workers struggling for a living wage and dignity in the workplace.”

Tell the boss that you’re taking Friday afternoon off and head to the Gym for the 4 pm presentation of Occupy Love. “Philosopher/filmmaker” Velcrow Ripper’s look into the meaning and importance of the Occupy movement will be followed at 6 pm by the locally produced We the Owners. Producer Mary Ann Beyster will be on hand to greet the crowd.

Kudos to festival organizers for showcasing a film that can only be described as an anomaly and curiosity of earth-hugging eco-fests: a green documentary with a sense of humor! Oil Sands Karaoke is an intimate look at how industry workers warble their blues away at a local Northern Alberta pub.

Oil Sands Karaoke screens Friday at 8 pm followed by an opening night party at the Seven Grand, where Phoenix “punkgrass” band the Haymarket Squares will entertain the crowd.

And that’s just day one! All films screen at the Media Arts Center Digital Gym, 2921 El Cajon Boulevard. Tickets are $10.50 per film with day passes going for $25 and festival pass for $60.

For a complete list of titles and showtimes visit Workers Film Festival.