This is POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of
Wisconsin Public Television's Director's Cut.
Tonight's film is "BISBEE '17",
a non-fiction feature film documentary
that revisits a violent episode in the history
of mining town Bisbee, Arizona.
In 1917, Bisbee was a town divided as law enforcement,
along with armed citizenry, rounded up 1200 striking workers
demanding safer working conditions and higher wages.
They packed them in to boxcars and carted them
to the middle of the desert
and seemingly left them for dead.
"Bisbee '17" focuses on solidarity and struggle
as it confronts the issues of immigration, unionization,
the environment and corporate corruption.
Director Robert Greene tells his story by enlisting the talents
of local townspeople to re-create the events of 1917,
staging a re-enactment of this massive deportation
on its 100th anniversary.
This is an even more interesting tactic
considering that some of the town's residents
are still divided over this century old incident.
Watch Greene's directorial skills in full force
as he manages to bring a town together
to re-enact its divided past.
"BISBEE '17" had its world premiere
at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
New York Times Film Critic A.O. Scott
calls the film a clearsighted
and gratifyingly complicated documentary.
The 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
isn't too shabby either.
"BISBEE '17" starts now on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for Independent Film.