Brett Story, Filmmaker and Professor

Film Screening | UNION (2024) + Q&A with Director Brett Story Through intimate cinema vérité, UNION chronicles the extraordinary efforts of an unlikely group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Led by the charismatic but underestimated Chris Smalls, the diverse band of workers start the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and embark on a journey against one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. The odds are stacked against them, as the group finds itself up against a tech industry giant with unlimited resources, without major support from national unions or politicians, and while navigating internal divisions within their own ranks. Filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing document the struggle from day one, offering a gripping human drama about the fight for power and dignity in today's globalized economic landscape. Brett Story (she/her) is an Emmy-nominated and Oscar shortlisted filmmaker and writer whose work pushes the formal boundaries of political cinema. Her films have screened in theatres and festivals internationally, including at Sundance, New York Film Festival, Visions du Reel, and IDFA. She is the director of four feature films, including The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016) and The Hottest August (2019), and she is the author of the book Prison Land. Her most recent feature documentary, Union (2024) co-directed with Stephen Maing, premiered at Sundance 2024 where it won the Special Jury Prize for Art of Change. Unionhas screened at more than 100 festivals worldwide and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Brett holds a PhD in geography and is an assistant professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Toronto. Hosted by the Film and Media Studies Program.