*TWN Releases Documentary Film CLAIMING OUR VOICE * *"CLAIMING OUR VOICE follows Andolan members as they seek self-expression beyond the simple survivor narrative. They reconstruct their stories as individuals and as a collective, with a pastiche of dialogue, song and dance, merging folk traditions with contemporary politics and radical performance art."* *Michelle Chen, The Nation* *Third World Newsreel is proud to announce the educational release of Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel's CLAIMING OUR VOICE. In this short documentary film, immigrant domestic workers bring their stories of survival, empowerment and activism to center stage.* CLAIMING OUR VOICE follows members of Andolan, a Queens-based organization founded and led by South Asian domestic workers as a means to support each other and collectively organize against exploitative work conditions in an industry prone to underpayment of wages, extended work hours without rest, sleep deprivation, lack of health care, verbal and emotional abuse, and sometimes, physical assault, and sexual abuse. This film presents the women of Andolan as they create, rehearse and refine acts for their first multi-lingual theater performance with the help of Sri Lankan-American performing artist YaliniDream. There are 1.8 million domestic workers in the United States. Of these domestic workers 99% are foreign born, and 93% are women. CLAIMING OUR VOICE helps raise awareness and foster discussion about the hidden issues of domestic work and immigration both within and outside of the South Asian community. Through the course of the film, our main characters are revealed as their own heroines - challenging stereotypical images of immigrants and low-wage workers as well as notions of culture, race, gender, and class. CLAIMING OUR VOICE is available from Third World Newsreel for educational purchase on DVD and Digital File combo. The DVD extras include the full performance of the theater piece created by Andolan, *Sukh aur Dukh ki Kahani (Stories of Joy and Sorrow)*. To facilitate discussion in community screenings and classrooms, a screening guide and companion curriculum -- written and developed by Promiti Islam, M.A. and Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Ed.D. in consultation with Chitra Aiyar, Karishma Desai, and Jennifer Samuel-- is included with the purchase. For more information about CLAIMING OUR VOICE, please contact Third World Newsreel. read more <http://twn.org/catalog/pages/cpage.aspx?rec=1416&card=price> watch trailer <http://youtu.be/QExwTM8N6P8> download press kit <http://twn.org/catalog/guides/ClaimingOurVoice_PressKit_Web> download labor studies catalog <http://www.twn.org/catalog/guides/LaborStudiesCollection_2014.pdf> Email: [log in to unmask] Telephone: (212) 947-9277 *Third World Newsreel* (TWN) is a media arts organization dedicated to fostering the creation, appreciation and dissemination of independent social issue media made by and about people of color. TWN also has a variety of workshops and classes throughout the year on film and video production. TWN is supported in part by NYSCA, NYCDCA, NEA, Peace Development Fund and Materials for the Arts, as well as individual donors. Visit www.twn.org. ---- Learn to speak like a film/TV professor! Listen to the ScreenLex podcast: http://www.screenlex.org