Overview

In recent times, several countries in and outside Europe have witnessed a proliferation of self-managed factories. Due to its economic, social and political connotations, the phenomenon captured the interest and imagination of many filmmakers, scriptwriters and producers. In both the documentary and the argumentative versions, cinema offers living portraits of the tenacious struggle of workers who take control of companies to preserve their source of employment.

This second session of the series Challenges and Opportunities for Self-Management, proposes the documentary FaSinPat, Fábrica sin Pátron [Argentina, 2004, 1h07m], by the Italian director Daniele Incalcaterra, which tells the story of a group of workers occupying the facilities of a ceramic factory, in the province of Neuquén, in the Argentine Patagonia. FaSinPat - shot when the country was going through a deep economic and social crisis - portrays the difficulties and achievements of the collective of workers in its first months: conflicts with owners and state institutions, problems related to production, local community, and the first orders. A story that transcends time and space to reflect on the challenges and potentialities of the self-managed model in the context of a capitalist society in crisis.