Oscar Winner Steven Bognar Joins ‘Who Moves America’ as Executive Producer; Yael Bridge’s Documentary Explores UPS Teamsters Contract Dispute
Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Bognar has joined the documentary Who Moves America as an executive producer, coinciding with the film’s presentations at the SFFILM Festival and the Austin Film Society’s Doc Days. The documentary was screened on Wednesday night as part of DOC NYC’s Selects Spring Series, where a second screening was subsequently added.
Director Yael Bridge and Oscar-nominated producer Yoni Golijov are scheduled to engage in a post-screening Q&A at the SFFILM Festival on April 27. The documentary initially premiered earlier this month at the True/False festival in Columbia, Missouri.
In the festival program, Jessie Fairbanks of SFFILM described Who Moves America as an exploration of the experiences faced by UPS Teamsters, detailing their long hours, unsafe working conditions, and considerable physical demands. The documentary employs personal stories and intensive reporting to highlight the significance of collective action, chronicling the organizing efforts of union leaders as they negotiate for fair wages, safer conditions, and job security for members of North America’s largest labor organization.
Bognar expressed his enthusiasm about his role in the film, stating, “I’m honored and excited to be coming on board as an executive producer on Who Moves America. This rousing and urgent film pulls us in immediately to the hard strategy questions faced by UPS workers as their contract expires. Not only is this a very suspenseful human drama, it has such practical use for anyone trying to build solidarity and organize in the current workplace. The standing ovation at the True/False Film Fest went on and on—I’ve been at that festival many times, and I’ve never seen such a sustained ovation from an audience at the Missouri Theater.”
Bognar is renowned for his Academy Award-winning work on the feature documentary American Factory, which he co-directed with the late Julia Reichert. This film examined labor relations within a Chinese auto glass manufacturer that took over a defunct GM plant in Ohio.
Bridge conveyed her admiration for Bognar’s contributions to documentary filmmaking, stating, “Few filmmakers have done more to shape our understanding of labor in America than Steven Bognar. For decades, he has committed himself to telling these stories with unflinching honesty and deep humanity, building a body of work that has fundamentally changed how we see what it means to work in this country.”
Who Moves America is co-produced by Sidereal Time LLC and ITVS, with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Alongside Bognar, the executive producer team includes award-winning filmmaker Carrie Lozano for ITVS and filmmaker Astra Taylor.
The documentary’s editing is handled by Thomas Niles, with Viridiana Lieberman as consulting editor. The director of photography is Erick Stoll, while the film’s score is crafted by Osei Essed and Santiago Arias-Rozo. Jun Stinson Yamagishi serves as supervising producer for ITVS.
As this project continues, those involved express their hope that it will inspire the next generation of labor activists.
