Nightcleaners

The triumph of experimental cinema as a means of addressing inequality. Screening as part of the Collective Cinema Festival.

1975, Berwick Street Film Collective

Great Britain 
95 min., English with russian subtitles

documentary

In the evenings, night cleaners take over from clerks and office staff in London offices. Their reality is monotonous, low-paid work and the arrogance of management. In 1970, these women began attempts to form their own trade union under the leadership of activist and artist Mary Kelly.

Still from Nightcleaners, 1975

It is the most important political film ever to have been made in this country.

—Claire Johnston, Jump Cut

The film by directors who emerged from the 1960s Left movement and founded the Berwick Street Film Collective seeks not merely to depict the labour and lives of its protagonists, but to break down the class barriers in their representation. The authors don’t let the audience lose themselves in the film—instead, they encourage an analytical viewing. They seem to remind us: even though we cannot fully comprehend the experience of night cleaners, this does not mean we cannot empathise or show solidarity.