A documentary on the history and legacy of a Greek immigrant from Crete, whose work in organizing and defending workers’ rights at the beginning of the 20th century helped shape the US labour movement a century ago, is screening at theaters, festivals and communities throughout the United States.
Four years of meticulous research and interviews with top historians has resulted in an outstanding documentary film about Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre, a dark chapter in American history.
The Ludlow Massacre may be a relatively obscure event of the early 20th century history of the labour movement, but it nonetheless played an important role in the unionisation of America in the forties and the fifties, and in the establishment of labor protection laws. On April 20, 1914 members of the Colorado National Guard attacked a tent colony of striking coal miners and their families causing the deaths of 39 people including 2 women and 11 children.
“The Ludlow Massacre and the assassination of Greek immigrant and labour leader Louis Tikas (Elias Spantidakis) is one of the decisive moments of the American labour movement. It’s already an extremely important story for Americans, but for us, as Greeks, the connection is even deeper. We feel it’s an event that connects, a century later, 1914’s USA to the labour and immigrant demands in 2014 Greece”, Lamprini Thoma, producer of Palikari, told The Press Project International in an interview.
The Ludlow Massacre and Louis Tikas role is outlined in a story we published earlier this month.
The film has already screened in New York City at the CUNY Graduate Center, and also at a special event hosted by the Detroit Cretan Association. Future screenings on the schedule:
September 27th, 3:00 pm, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Norfolk, VA.
October 3rd, San Francisco, CA at San Francisco State University, as part of a special one-day colloquium titled “Revisiting Ludlow: Its Enduring Legacy.”
October 5th, Chicago at the Chicago Greek Film Festival. Screening and Q&A
October 8th, Kansas City, MO, at UCMO. Screening and Q&A
More dates and cities are to be added to the above program as well once they are confirmed.
Producer Lamprini Thoma and director Nickos Ventouras will be present at the above screenings. For information about the documentary or to contact the filmmakers to schedule a screening in your city, visit the production company’s website, Non Organic Productions.
Watch the documentary trailer:
[youtube id=”mgLReEWH3Lo” width=”600″ height=”350″]
1 comment
ATHANATOS!!!!!!!!!