NO SWEAT

Origin Country: USA
Runtime: 54 MIN
Presentation Format: Digibeta

DIR/SCR Amie Williams PROD Amie Williams, Tony Silver DP Amie Williams ED Libby Horne MUS Quetzal Quetzal, Jamie Lawrence

Short Note:
An all-American tale about an all-American garmentÑthe T-shirtÑthis documentary takes a wild ride into the bowels of the Los Angeles garment industry. Mostly undocumented workers at American Apparel and SweatX are offered better wages, benefits, even a shot at worker-ownership. But what's really behind the label?

Long Note: Blasting the screen with sure-footed confidence, director Amie Williams has crafted apowerful documentary that shines a light on the popular American Apparel clothing lineand the bigger issues that surround the garment industry in America.

An all-American tale about an all-American garmentÑthe T-shirtÑthis documentary takesa wild ride into the bowels of the Los Angeles garment industry. Mostly undocumented workers at American Apparel and SweatX are offered better wages, benefits, even a shotat worker-ownership. But what's really behind the label?

Amie Williams follows her subjects with a seamless flow of kinetic energyÑweaving together day-in-the-life verité footage with interviews, from workers, owners and buyersÑcreating a vibrant, informative documentary. NO SWEAT is an evocative and riveting mosaic of the big picture that makes up the garment industry.
-Shaz Bennett

Biography:
Williams has produced and directed four feature-length documentaries: FALLON, NV:DEADLY OASIS (2003), about a childhood leukemia cluster in a small military town in Nevada; STRIPPED AND TEASED: TALES FROM LAS VEGAS WOMEN (2001); ONEDAY LONGER: THE STORY OF THE FRONTIER STRIKE (2002); and UNCOMMONGROUND: FROM LOS ANGELES TO SOUTH AFRICA (1994). These films have won numerous awards, including the International Documentary Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Media Grant, the SONY/Streisand Award for emerging female filmmakers, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Peace Grant, the A.F.I. Independent Film and Videomakers Award, and a National Arts Council grant to tour Japan and Singapore to show her work. Williams' other work includes numerous public service announcements and political ads. She directed award-winning spots for Cruz Bustamante, the first Latino lieutenant governor of California, and for many candidates running for California state senate and assembly. She graduated from Yale University (B.A., English and Theater, 1985) and UCLA (M.F.A., Film, 1992).