Indie Plug

Film: Santa's Workshop

Here’s a very impressive independent documentary about the factory workers in China who make many of the toys and other gifts you may have exchanged this holiday season.  Lotta Ekelund directs this documentary, and she focuses on the long hours, and the sometimes dangerous conditions these workers endure.  It’s a European production, so the point of view is a little different from my American one.  For example, the filmmakers are pretty adamant that no worker would ever want to work any overtime hours.  That’s something we’re pretty used to in the United States, and a phenomenon with which I am particularly well acquainted.  So, there are a few specific ideas set forth by this film that I disagreed with.  But of course, these factory workers aren’t merely enduring ten or fifteen extra hours or work a week.  It’s often far more, and they are almost forced to do it, or risk losing the job.  And, the work conditions are  particularly grueling.  It’s heat combined with physical labor, and dangerous moving machinery parts.  That’s a recipe for accidents.  This is a pretty short documentary.  It runs only thirty-two minutes, and you can view the whole thing online here.  I highly recommend you take some time to check out this fascinating indie film.