Barbara Kopple Returns to the Picket Line

There’s something fitting about the fact that Barbara Kopple ’s latest documentary, Union Town , premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Though the title refers to labor organizing in and around New York City, unionized workers in Italy just signed a first-of-its-kind labor contract with Amazon. Winning a first contract is a goal that Amazon warehouse employees documented by Kopple in the film are working toward as they face aggressive opposition and legal challenges from the tech giant.

In Union Town, which makes its North American premiere at TIFF on Sept. 11, Kopple trains her camera on these Amazon workers as well as two other labor groups that power New York City’s delivery ecosystem. There are delivery drivers and warehouse workers for UPS, who in 2023 made their first real strike threat in years under the Sean O’Brien-led Teamsters union. And there are the “deliveristas,” delivery workers for apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats, often immigrants who navigate busy city streets on mopeds and bicycles. Related Stories Movies In 'Magazine', Director Alexandra Pechman Brings a Bygone Era of Print Media (and the 2010s) to TIFF Audiences Toronto Hidden Gem 'Smudge the Blades' Isn't Your 'Heated Rivalry'-Style Canadian Hockey Drama

Kopple spoke to THR about the doc’s focus on female workers, its footage of Amazon and UPS warehouses, and its distribution prospects at a difficult time for social-issue documentaries .