To persevere and be born again and again is the ultimate act of struggle. At least, that’s what the Fralib factory workers stood for after Unilever tried to relocate them from France to Poland. Victory came 3 years later, but what is their strategy to retain their rightful place?
The rhythmic noise of a tea packaging machine welcomes us into Taste of Hope (Laura Coppens, 2019). Che Guevara’s face is stamped on the wall, opening the film as a cue for a long-held dream. Scop Ti workers’ confidence that there is class warfare in the struggle to maintain the sustainability of the tea industry makes them often vulnerable to the market climate and innovation.
Colorful boxes labeled “1336” dot the supermarkets, allowing consumers to try and comment on the taste of the tea. Coppens takes the audience through the struggles of a worker-driven and worker-led cooperative enterprise. Testing new tea brewing flavors, having elaborate discussions about the right packaging, and even dealing with consumer criticism are all staples of their daily routine. Coppens beautifully encapsulates this tea resistance not only in its human focus, but also in the machines that keep them alive.
In the absence of a leader to patronize them, they must strive together on the basis of equal collective responsibility. The road to a utopian dream of prosperity is still a long one, as vulnerabilities lurk behind the scenes. In the swirling vortex of capitalism, they must devise a series of fresh moves to survive in the market.
Taste of Hope (2019) provides a warm brew amidst the coldness of the relentlessly spinning steel machine. In the same vein, the struggle to survive is twice the effort of tearing down the wall of oppression. At least, by holding hands and looking ahead, a cup of hope brewed tea is always ready to be served.
Taste of Hope (2019) is selected in Utopia/Dystopia Festival Film Dokumenter 2023. (Athallah, Tuffahati) (Vanis)
Film Details
Taste of Hope
Laura Coppens | 70 Min | 2019 | Switzerland, Germany | Color | 17+
Screening Schedule
12.06 | Bioskop Sonobudoyo | 15.00 WIB
12.08 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 15.30 WIB
