''Bread and Roses'' is a 2000 film directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

, starring Pilar Padilla,

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

and

Elpidia Carrillo Elpidia Carrillo (born August 16, 1961) is a Mexican actress and director. Her career includes roles in both Latin American and US film and television. She is best known in the United States for her supporting role in the iconic action film ''Pre ...

. The plot deals with the struggle of poorly paid janitorial workers in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and their fight for better working conditions and the right to

unionize A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

. It is based on the "

Justice for Janitors Justice for Janitors (JfJ) is a social movement organization that fights for the rights of janitors (caretakers and cleaners) across the US and Canada. It was started on June 15, 1990, in response to the low wages and minimal health-care coverage ...

" campaign of the

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

(SEIU). The film is critical of inequalities in the United States. Health insurance in particular is highlighted and it is also stated in the film that the pay of cleaners and other low paying jobs has declined in recent years. The film's name, "

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses too" inspired ...

", derives from the 1912 textile strike in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Though the phrase comes from a 1911 poem by

James Oppenheim James Oppenheim (24 May 1882 – 4 August 1932) was an American poet, novelist, and editor. A lay analyst and early follower of Carl Jung, Oppenheim was also a founder and editor of ''The Seven Arts''. Life and work Oppenheim was born in St. ...

(which was, in turn, based on a speech given by

Rose Schneiderman Rose Schneiderman (April 6, 1882 – August 11, 1972) was a Polish-born American socialist and feminist, and one of the most prominent female labor union leaders. As a member of the New York Women's Trade Union League, she drew attention to u ...

), it is commonly associated with the Lawrence strike, which united dozens of immigrant communities, led to a large extent by women, under the leadership of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

Cast

;Uncredited party guests

Production

The following companies produced the film: *British Screen * BSkyB *Cineart *Filmcooperative Zürich *Parallax Pictures *BiM Distribution *Alta Films * BAC Films *Road Movies Filmproduktion *Tornasol Films

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

(Golden Palm) at the

2000 Cannes Film Festival The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film '' Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier. The ...

and won the Jury Award at the

Temecula Valley International Film Festival The Temecula Valley International Film Festival is a film festival held in Temecula Valley, California. Background Launched in September 1995 and held, uninterrupted every September until 2011 (later to relaunch in 2014), the festival proclaims i ...

in 2000. In 2001, it was nominated for the Artios award of the Casting Society of America, for the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

for Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, and won the Phoenix Prize at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In 2002, it was nominated for four

ALMA Awards The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latinos ...

, of which it won the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Elpidia Carrillo) and also won the Imagen Award for Best Theatrical Feature Film of the Imagen Foundation Awards.

References

External links

The Bread-and-Roses-strike
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bread And Roses (Film) 2000 films 2000 drama films African-American drama films British drama films 2000s English-language films Films scored by George Fenton Films about the labor movement Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Ken Loach Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Mexico Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in San Diego German drama films English-language German films British independent films Spanish drama films English-language Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films Swiss drama films English-language Swiss films German independent films Spanish independent films 2000s American films 2000s British films 2000s German films