Matthew Barr

With These Hands: The Story of an American Furnitue Factory

Matthew Barr

Clyde Hooker, Jr., Paul Toms

In 2007, unable to compete with cheaper offshore production, Hooker Furniture Co. closed its plant in Martinsville, Virginia, after 83 years in operation. With These Hands follows the last load of wood down the assembly line as it is cut, honed, and assembled into fine furniture. Along the way, employees at the factory share their perspectives on work, community, and survival in a country devastated by de-industrialization and outsourcing.

Union Time: Fighting for Workers’ Rights

Matthew Barr

Danny Glover

Union Time: Fighting for Workers’ Rights follows the story of workers at the Smithfield Pork Processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, who fought for safe, fair working conditions – and won. It goes beyond hype about unions (from both sides) to show how people standing together can break the cycle of poverty and injustice.

Carnival Train

Matthew Barr

From the big wheel to the dime toss, every ride and game on the James E. Strates Show travels by train along the Eastern Seaboard. The carnies who assemble and maintain the rides and man the games are often looked down upon because of their transient way of life. Carnival Train captures the magic of the midway as it comes together, town after town, and shows how carnies create a community and way of life that transcends place and time.