There is so much interest in food these days yet there is almost no interest in the hands that pick that food. In the US, farm labor has always been one of the most difficult and poorly paid jobs and has relied on some of the nation's most vulnerable people. While the legal restrictions which kept people bound to farms, like slavery, have been abolished, exploitation still exists, ranging from wage theft to modern-day slavery. These days, this exploitation is perpetuated by the corporations at the top of the food chain: supermarkets. Their buying power has kept wages pitifully low and has created a scenario where desperately poor people are willing to put up with anything to keep their jobs. Written by Anonymous
The Democratic Republic of Congo has endured 20 years of devastating violence. Rape has been used as a weapon of war to destroy community and access precious minerals. Congo is often referred to as “the worst place in the world to be a woman.” CITY OF JOY tells a different story of the region. The film focuses on Jane, a student at a center where women who have suffered unimaginable abuse join together to become leaders. We also meet the founders of the center: a devout Congolese Doctor (Dr Denis Mukwege, 2016 Nobel Peace Prize nominee) a Congolese activist (Christine Schuler-Deschryver) and a radical N.Y. playwright (Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues). The film weaves between joy and pain as these individuals band together to demand hope in a place so often deemed hopeless.