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5 FACTORIESâWORKER CONTROL IN VENEZUELA A Film by Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler 81 min., 2006 In their second film regarding political and social change in Venezuela, after âVenezuela from Belowâ (67 min., 2004), Azzellini and Ressler focus on the industrial sector in â5 FactoriesâWorker Control in Venezuelaâ. The changes in Venezuela's productive sphere are demonstrated with five large companies in various regions: a textile company, an aluminum works, a tomato factory, a cocoa factory, and a paper factory. In all, the workers are struggling for different forms of co- or self-management supported by credits from the government. âThe assembly is basically governing the companyâ, says Rigoberto López from the textile factory âTextileros del Táchiraâ in front of steaming tubs. And coning machine operator Carmen Ortiz summarizes the experience as follows: âWorking collectively is much better than working for anotherâworking for another is like being a slave to that otherâ. The protagonists portrayed at the five production locations present insights into ways of alternative organizing and models of workers' control. Mechanisms and difficulties of self-organization are explained as well as the production processes. The portrayal of machine processes could be seen as a metaphor for the dream machine of the âBolivarian processâ, and the hopes and desires it inspires among the workers. The situation in the five factories varies, but they share the common search for better models of production and life. This not only means concrete improvements for the workers. Aury Arocha, laboratory analyst at the ketchup factory âTomates Guáricoâ, emphasizes that the difference between âsocial production companiesâ (EPS) and capitalist corporations is that the EPS âwork for the community and societyâ. Carlos Lanz, president of the second largest aluminum factory in Venezuela, Alcasa, coins the key question: âHow does a company push toward socialism within a capitalist framework?â The film ends with an extended sequence from a management meeting at Alcasa, a company with 2.700 workers, with discussions about co-management and the changes of production relations they aspire towards. The film is originally in Spanish and available with German or English subtitles (from May 2006 on). The English version â5 FactoriesâWorker Control in Venezuelaâ as an installation version with six video projections from March 26 to May 28, 2006 will open the yearlong MATRIX cycle âNow-Time Venezuela: Media Along the Path of the Bolivarian Processâ at the Berkeley Art Museum (U.S.A.), organized by Chris Gilbert. Concept, interviews, film editing, production: Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler Camera: Volkmar Geiblinger Production Assistant in Venezuela: Eduardo Daza Image editing and titles: Markus Koessl Sound Editor: Rudi Gottsberger Interviewees: José Luis Acosta, Luis Alfonso, Luis Alvarez, Aury Arocha, Zulay Boyer, Carolina Chacón, Eleuterio Córdova, Hugo Favero, Manrique Gonzales, Dulfo Guerrero, Rowan Jiménez, Carlos Lanz, Marivit Lopez, Rigoberto López, Willys Lugo, Gonzalo Maestre, Luis Mata Castillo, Domingo Meléndez, Edith Mendoza, José Gregorio Moy, Carmen OrtÃz, Alexander Patiño, Santos Pérez, Juana RuÃz, Elio Sayago, José del Carmen Tapias, Leslie E. Turmero Further Information: www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/nowtime/index.html www.ressler.at www.azzellini.net S p a n i s h : 5 FÃBRICAS â CONTROL OBRERO EN VENEZUELA Una PelÃcula de DarÃo Azzellini y Oliver Ressler 81 min., 2006 Luego de âVenezuela desde abajoâ (67 min. 2004), en su segunda pelÃcula sobre los cambios polÃticos y sociales en Venezuela, â5 Fábricas â control obrero en Venezuelaâ, Azzellini y Ressler dirigen su atención al sector industrial. Las transformaciones en el sector productivo de Venezuela son presentadas por medio de 5 grandes empresas en distintas regiones: Una fábrica de aluminio, una textil, una fábrica de tomate, una de _______________________________________________ nettime-ann mailing list [email protected] http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-ann
