The holiday season is upon us and it’s time to start collecting those presents for friends and family! In celebration of this festive time I’ve decided to put my entire feature documentary “My Cultural Divide” on the internet for anyone to watch free of charge. In fact – you can download it, pass it along, and screen it for groups if you’d like. My Cultural Divide played in many film festivals around the world, including the Montreal World Film Festival, the Visions du Réel (Switzerland), and even now in film classes at the University of Zurich.

Here’s the link: http://vimeo.com/6393377

And the film’s website: http://www.lutchmedial.ca/myculturaldivide/

There’s a reason I am doing this now, and it’s because of the documentary’s focus on sweatshop labour in Bangladesh and the rest of the world. It shows garment workers inside the factories and their plight, as well as the difficult choices conscientious consumers face when standing at the checkout. And although the film is about clothing manufacturing, the same applies to virtually every product we buy including electronics, toys, and even a lot of our food. That said, I am not telling you to stop buying entirely – just when you do go out shopping this year, take a little time to think about where the things you put in your basket came from, and at what cost. Often there are alternatives out there, and even when there are not, a quick email or letter demanding sweatshop free products to a big corporation actually does make a difference. Better yet, email you Member of Parliament or Congressperson and tell them this issue means a lot to you!

I am not going to say much more because the film speaks for me – but here are a few places you can get information about the subject of sweatshop labour:

National Labor Committee: http://www.nlcnet.org/

Unitied Students Against Sweatshops: http://usas.org/

The Maquila Solidarity Network: http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/

You can always contact me about the film as well at info@lutchmedial.ca and if you are interested in buying a DVD copy of My Cultural Divide (better quality and you can play it easily on a TV) they are now available for $15 + Shipping and Handling.

Happy Holidays, and enjoy the film!