Healthy Workplaces Film Award presented for the 10th time in 2018

The winner of the award, given to the best film on the subject of work, is Marina by Julia Roesler of Germany. 

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) supports the Healthy Workplaces Film Award, hosted by the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film (DOK Leipzig).

The winning film tells the story of Marina, an isolated Romanian care worker in Germany, and reflects the lives of the many women interviewed by the director who have moved from their homes in Eastern Europe to seek employment in the care sector in the West. The film provides a thought-provoking take on the exploitation of migrant workers and the day-to-day challenges they face.

The jury were impressed by the appealing manner in which the film was produced, remarking that it ‘connects well with its audience’ and sheds light on ‘the global working hierarchy where economic necessity creates imbalances for others to prosper’.

The Healthy Workplaces Film Award honours an outstanding documentary or animated film that focuses on the experiences of workers, examining such topics as the effects of economic and political change on work, workplace risks, and mental health and well-being at work. EU-OSHA is proud to support the award, which:

• raises awareness of important occupational safety and health (OSH) issues;
• promotes safe and healthy workplaces in Europe;
• contributes to a growing library of films about work; and
• inspires talented directors to make films on OSH-related subjects.

Open to the Public by the Italian Silvia Belloti, received a special mention for a fly-on-the-wall film that mercilessly captures the paralysing bureaucracy at the housing department in Naples.

Among this year’s other nominees are a documentary looking at life and work on a small-scale Austrian farm that stands against resource-destroying agricultural practices; a Polish film in which ex-workers re-enact one day of work in a factory that no longer exists; and a look at the working lives of bicycle couriers in Paris.

The director of the winning film receives a €5,000 prize fund. In addition, the film is subtitled in several European languages, and made available through an electronic platform to EU-OSHA’s network of national focal points, which organise special screenings and discussions.

DOK Leipzig shows over 300 films from more than 50 countries, screens over 100 world and international premieres, and attracts more than 47,000 visitors each year. The festival offers an opportunity to showcase great film-making to raise central questions about society and political developments.

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