1 month ago
Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Bognar has joined labor-themed documentary Who Moves America arsenic an executive shaper up of nan film’s upcoming appearances astatine nan SFFILM Festival and nan Austin Film Society’s Doc Days. The documentary screened Wednesday nighttime astatine DOC NYC’s Selects Spring Series, pinch a 2nd screening added.
Director Yael Bridge and Oscar-nominated shaper Yoni Golijov are expected to return portion successful a post-screening Q&A astatine nan SFFILM Festival connected April 27. The documentary premiered successful early March astatine nan True/False show successful Columbia, MO.
“Who Moves America explores nan lives of UPS Teamsters facing agelong hours, unsafe conditions, and relentless beingness demands,” SFFILM’s Jessie Fairbanks writes successful nan show program. “Through friendly portraits and on-the-ground reporting, nan documentary showcases nan powerfulness of corporate action, capturing organizing efforts led by national leaders arsenic they discuss adjacent pay, safer moving conditions, and occupation information for members of North America’s largest labour organization.”
Bognar won his Academy Award successful 2020 for nan characteristic documentary American Factory, which he directed pinch nan precocious Julia Reichert. That movie besides examined labour relations successful nan discourse of a Chinese car solid shaper that took complete a moribund GM works successful Ohio.
“I’m honored and excited to beryllium coming connected committee arsenic an executive shaper connected Who Moves America,” Bognar said successful a statement. “This rousing and urgent movie pulls america successful instantly to nan difficult strategy questions faced by UPS workers arsenic their statement expires. Not only is this a very suspenseful quality drama, it has specified applicable usage for anyone trying to build solidarity and shape successful nan existent workplace. The opinionated ovation astatine nan True/False Film Fest went connected and connected – I’ve been astatine that show galore times, and I’ve ne'er seen specified a sustained ovation from an assemblage astatine nan Missouri Theater.”
Bridge made her characteristic directorial debut pinch 2020’s The Big Scary “S” Word. She besides produced nan acclaimed 2025 short documentary Classroom 4, directed and produced by Eden Wurmfeld.
“Few filmmakers person done much to style our knowing of labour successful America than Steven Bognar,” Bridge observed. “For decades, he has committed himself to telling these stories pinch unflinching honesty and heavy humanity, building a assemblage of activity that has fundamentally changed really we spot what it intends to activity successful this country. His films person fixed workers a complexity connected surface that is each excessively rare, and they’ve influenced an full procreation of documentary filmmakers – including me. To person him subordinate nan Who Moves America teams feels for illustration a full-circle moment, and I couldn’t beryllium much honored.”
Golijov’s producing credits included nan Academy Award-nominated All nan Beauty and nan Bloodshed, directed by Laura Poitras, and Cover-Up, directed by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus.
“American Factory was 1 of nan defining inspiration points for Who Moves America, truthful it is simply a existent grant and affirmation to person Steven subordinate america arsenic an executive producer,” noted producers Yoni Golijov, Mars Verrone, and Jeremy Flood. “Steven has built an astounding assemblage of activity grounded successful humanistic narratives, which delve into nan complexities of labor, class, and globalization. We are excited for this task to proceed successful his bequest of worker-centered labour storytelling and to activity together to guarantee this movie reaches nan adjacent procreation of labour activists.”
Who Moves America is simply a co-production of Sidereal Time LLC and ITVS, pinch backing provided by nan Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“We’re thrilled that Steven Bognar has joined nan Who Moves America team,” said Royd Chung, ITVS SVP of Programming & Production. “Over nan years, ITVS has been proud to support Steven’s work, including nan Primetime Emmy Award–winning A Lion successful nan House and 9 To 5: The Story of a Movement, some of which were presented by Independent Lens. This movie by Yael Bridge and her bonzer filmmaking squad exemplifies nan benignant of courageous storytelling that ITVS champions, centering nan voices of those fighting for solidarity and telling stories that seizure nan humanity, complexity, and courageousness of workers.”
Who Moves America is edited by Thomas Niles (The Body Politic), pinch consulting editor Viridiana Lieberman (The Perfect Neighbor). The film’s head of photography is Erick Stoll (American Factory); nan people is composed by Osei Essed and Santiago Arias-Rozo. Jun Stinson Yamagishi served arsenic supervising shaper for ITVS. Along pinch Steven Bognar, executive producers see award-winning filmmaker Carrie Lozano for ITVS and filmmaker and writer Astra Taylor (What Is Democracy?).
