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A curated selection of short films exploring the inner lives of women working in factories, contrasting their individual experiences with the mechanised worlds in which they work.

A lörinci fonóban (At the Lőrinc Spinnery) 1972

"Around 1000 women work in the Lörinc spinning mill. Some of them live in dormitories, some with their families, among them Anna, Erzsébet and the married woman Mrs. János. Mészáros captures each of the women’s own individual rhythms, consisting of eating, working and sometimes even a little bit of pleasure. Portraits of three very different ladies, framed by a mechanical occupation." - Go East Film Festival

16 minutes | Ages 15+

One Hundred a Day 1973

An early short film by acclaimed Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, One Hundred a Day is an impressionistic portrait of a young worker as she pushes through a shift at a shoe factory after visiting an illegal abortionist. Shot in stark monochrome, the 1930s-set short film is a taut and evocative depiction of the hidden lives buried amidst the harsh machinery of a factory floor.

8 minutes | Ages 15+

Pytel blech (A Bagful of Fleas) 1962

The directorial debut of renowned Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová, A Bagful of Fleas serves as a foundational text in her oeuvre of brazen, non-conformist portrayals of female individualism. This mid-length experimental fiction-documentary hybrid functions as a vital critique of structural power, anticipating the radical deconstructions of her 1966 masterpiece Daisies.

Set within a highly regimented youth hostel for female textile factory workers in Czechoslovakia, Chytilová explores how state-mandated collectivism masks deeply institutional, paternalistic, and gendered constraints. Shot in black-and-white with a loose, vérité style that makes use of non-professional actors and naturalistic dialogue, the film utilises the unique framing device of an entirely subjective, first-person camera perspective. Through this unanchored, invisible lens, the audience experiences newcomer Eva’s new world, including her admiration for her roommate, Jana—a volatile, free-spirited rebel who constantly clashes with factory discipline and administrative hostel staff. By positioning female interiority and chaotic individualism against bureaucratic containment, Chytilová delivers a deeply cynical and unsentimental look at state hypocrisy, demonstrating that even within promised political utopias, the ultimate reference point of authority remains bound to masculine control.

43 minutes | Ages 15+