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The story of eight women in America's heartland -- Willmar, Minnesota -- who were driven by sex discrimination at work to find themselves unexpectedly at the forefront of the struggle for women's rights.

THE WILLMAR 8 is Academy Award-winner Lee Grant's documentary about working women which has been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, excerpted on 60 Minutes, and was broadcast nationally by PBS. Risking jobs, friends, family and the opposition of church and community, the eight women began the longest bank strike in American history in a dramatic attempt to assert their own equality and self-worth.

"The true drama of America... A revealing portrait of an American small town and how the lives of eight women changed as they withstood community disapproval and gained a new sense of themselves." - Judy Stone, San Francisco Chronicle

"There could be no better film to show skeptics what the women's struggle is all about or to show women that the struggle is worth it." - Gloria Steinem

"Forthright...moving...inspiring...Explores contemporary folk heroism with an active admiring energy." - Janet Maslin, New York Times

Running Time

51 mins

Year

1980

Kanopy ID

1139769

Filmmakers

Lee Grant

Features

Julie Thompson, Mary Beth Yarrow

Languages

English

Subjects

Global Studies & Languages > North American Studies

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