To celebrate May Day this year, EngageMedia and Rumah Poros, a visual media collective based Yogyakarta, Indonesia, screened ‘Bekasi Bergerak‘ (Bekasi Workers Fight Back) on 10 May.
The short documentary, which was made by workers and union activists for the workers themselves, depicts how poor working conditions, long working hours, and underpaid wages triggered a spontaneous and militant response from the workers in Bekasi, one of the fastest-growing economic zones in outer Jakarta.
Producer Yusfik was invited to discuss with the 30 other attendees about the film and the use of visual media for advocacy to spread awareness about social and environmental issues.
Yusfik shared that he has been a fan of EngageMedia and uploading it to the site since the very beginning. In 2007, he created a video called ‘Homo Hominis Lupus‘ while he was helping a farmers organization struggle against land grabbing by a state-owned plantation.
‘Bekasi Bergerak’ has been increasingly getting attention, especially among unionists and socio-political movie enthusiasts.
Watch Bekasi Bergerak:
