Made in Bangladesh

Chances are at least one item in your clothes closet started its life in Bangladesh. This is a story of the women who make our jeans and T-shirts, told as a moving, suspenseful tale not simply of exploitation, but also of empowerment. Director Rubaiyat Hossain has achieved something remarkable, turning what could have been simply dry or guilt-inducing into a colorful, constantly engaging drama. Shimu (Shimu Reekita Nondine) fled her village as a child when her stepmother threatened to marry her off to a middle-aged man. Now 23 and living in the capital, she works grueling hours for paltry sums at a textile factory while her husband searches for work. After a fire in the factory results in the death of a co-worker, Shimu is approached by a union advocate who provides her with a crash course in women workers' rights - and the tools to enforce them. But Shimu's attempt to unionize her workplace is met with resistance at every turn, not only from her patriarchal employers, who openly threaten her, but also her colleagues, who are desperate to keep their jobs in a world where options for survival are few.