GRISSINOPOLI - BREAD STICKVILLE (GRISSINOPOLI - EL PAÍS DE LOS GRISINES)

The sixteen workers of Grissinopoli, a bread stick factory in Buenos Aireshave not been paid for more than nine months when they decide to go on strike. The owners of the indebted and bankrupted company simply jump the sinking ship. Instead of resigning, the workers decide to occupy the factory and manage to make it work with the sparse resources they have at hand. However, this is only the beginning of this battle of David against Goliath.

A financing company is first in line to attempt to acquire the factory for 8% of its value with no obligation to retain jobs nor pay the salaries owed. But after two years of bitter juridical struggle and thanks to the support of an incredible lawyer and the stubborn commitment of the workers, they finally win. Grissinopoli is exemplary in a country where 24% of the population are unemployed and half are living under the poverty line. From now on, workers have the right to transform their bankrupted factories into cooperatives. This has already made it possible to save 10,000 jobs in the country. Grissinopoli marks the birth of "the cooperative of new hope".

Filmed in the tradition of direct cinema, with no interviews or voice overs, Grissinopoli tells the story of workers regaining their dignity.

Awards: Public Award 2004, Nyon 2004; Best Latinamerican Documentary, Barcelona 2004; Mention of Honor, Derhumalc 2004