Shimu fled her village as a child when her stepmother threatened to marry her off to a middle-aged man. Now 23 and living in the capital, she works grueling hours for paltry sums at a textile factory while her husband searches for work.
Director:
Writers:
Rubaiyat Hossain, Philippe Barrière (co-writer)
Stars:
Yet another female organizing a union in male managed dominated abuse factory (NORMA RAE, THE COUNTY) but set in the little seen city of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The unfamiliar setting and authenticity of the somewhat simple look at poverty and abuse allow Hossain’s film to stand on its own without the usual cheap theatrics or Hollywood cliches.
After a fire in a cramped garment factory takes the life of a co-worker a 26-year old begins the difficult task of starting a union facing threats from her employer, disapproval from her unemployed husband and scared fellow-workers not to mention the corrupt officials that need to approve the union application. Hossain realizes that the strength of his film is Bangladesh itself and he shoots plenty of local scenes with the crowded streets and people.
Hossain also manages to rile up his audience in the fight against exploitive labour practices in an entertaining enough film. But if you want to see the real thing, there is a doc with the same title that ran on THE FIG+FTH ESTATE TV series.
Festival Reviews 