By ADINA YOUNG
Observer staff
Oct.11, 2007

Made in L.A., a film shown as part of the D.C. Labor Filmfest (link: http://www.dclabor.org/), is a sympathetic documentary film about three Hispanic women who immigrated to the United States as young adults and began working in sweatshops in Los Angeles.

Made in L.A.
Photo by Adina Young

The film, which premiered on PBS on Sept. 4, is a compelling story of the triumph of three Hispanic mothers battling for their rights as immigrant workers.

All of the women joined the L.A. Garment Worker Center, an advocacy group, to take a stand for their rights. They began publicly boycotting and protesting against the trendy fashion retailer Forever 21 because of unfair pay, poor working conditions and long work hours.

After three years of boycott and a battle in the courtroom, Forever 21 and the workers were able to reach a fair agreement in which employees worked no more than eight hour days.

The main story was about how these women were able to work together to fight for what they believe in: the fair treatment of immigrant workers in garment factories. For that I give it a B because it was a great story but did not completely catch my attention.

What did catch my attention, though, were the women’s individual stories on their immigration to the United States.

Maura Colorado had to leave her children and her parents behind in El Salvador to illegally immigrate to the United States in search of better opportunities. She has not seen her children since 1987 because neither she, nor they, have the proper paperwork to travel outside the country.

For this angle of the documentary, I give it an A- because it’s not easy to bring tears to my eyes.

I recommend this film to people who enjoy the true stories that come with documentary films… and to those who just want a good cry.