Working in Protest

Filmmakers Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky have documented protests for more than 30 years. Working in Protest collects footage they’ve captured over those decades, offering a largely chronological compilation of protests from both the right and the left: Klan and white-power rallies; anti-racism and anti-war protests; Occupy Wall Street, Tea Party, and Black Lives Matter events; pro- and anti-Trump gatherings. The film features widely varying opinions and a diverse chorus of voices, all presented without significant judgment. Beginning with a recent event - a KKK rally in celebration of Trump’s victory that draws counter-protesters who successfully shut it down - Working in Protest then moves back to 1987, to a white-power rally that observers who are interviewed see as an artifact of a different time, a last gasp of the Confederacy. Contemporary events, of course, make their hopeful observations seem sadly naive and the events documented newly relevant. (Sundance Film Festival)