Season 38

Up against one of the most powerful companies on the planet, a group of Amazon workers embark on an unprecedented campaign to unionize their warehouse in Staten Island, New York. Documenting the struggle in intimate cinéma vérité, UNION presents a gripping human drama about the fight for power and dignity in today's globalized economic landscape.

Black activist Francia Márquez rises from rural Colombia to launch a historic presidential campaign that defies the political establishment. By espousing a different way of doing politics and championing equality, she inspires a nationwide movement that challenges centuries of exclusion.

Inside Ethiopia's largest Chinese-run industrial park, three women stand at the crossroads of rapid development. A Chinese director drives ambitious expansion, while a local farmer and factory worker grapple with promises of prosperity and the true cost of progress in their transforming community.

Turning 21, Samuel wants his independence. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges and social barriers. Seizures and uncontrollable movements. Inaccessible housing. Degrading ableist encounters. "No one tells you how to be an adult," he says, "let alone an adult with a disability." Can a community of disability activists help him follow his dreams?

Residents of Sunset Park, Brooklyn face rising rents, a legacy of environmental racism and the loss of the industrial jobs that once sustained their community. When a global developer purchases a massive industrial complex on the waterfront and lays plans for an “innovation district,” a battle erupts over the future of the neighborhood and of New York City itself.

On a small farm in a Norwegian forest, the Paynes live a purposefully isolated life, striving to be wild and free. But when tragedy strikes, their idyllic world is shattered, forcing them to navigate the expectations of modern society. This intimate and soulful documentary explores love, growing up, and how we navigate life after loss.

After losing everything, Desiree Wood takes a second lease on life as a long-haul trucker. Alongside an irreverent group of women drivers, she fights for a life on the road. In a rapidly changing labor landscape, Desiree and her sisterhood of truckers rally against the crushing forces of an industry that is indifferent to their survival.

When three children die of leukemia in a rural Mexican community, two mothers partner with a scientist to investigate their water supply. Their discovery of dangerous radioactivity leads to community backlash and government denial, revealing how deep aquifers harbor ancient nuclear traces from the last ice age.

In a remote Siberian coal town, homemaker-turned-journalist Natalia Zubkova investigates an abandoned mine fire releasing toxic gas into residential homes. When her reporting goes viral, government officials launch an aggressive cover-up campaign, putting her directly in their crosshairs.

When attorney Paul Farrell Jr. takes on pharmaceutical giants to help his opioid-ravaged West Virginia hometown, his innovative legal strategy catches fire. As his local battle transforms into the largest civil litigation in U.S. history, he must navigate increasingly high stakes to secure justice—not just for his community, but for an entire nation in crisis.

As war ravages their homeland, three artists choose to stay in their native Ukraine, armed with their art, their cameras, and for the first time in their lives, their guns. A stunning tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, embodying the enduring hope and passion of ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances.

In a powerful story of healing and forgiveness, Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin re-imagines mothering after being abandoned by her own. In a journey to seek out her elusive mother, Staceyanne travels across Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne, and Jamaica while building a new sense of home with her own daughter.

When a queer Korean adoptee reunites with her birth mother in Seoul, long-buried cultural misunderstandings and unspoken regrets surface. With tenderness, humor, and determination, both mother and daughter navigate the heart-wrenching legacy of international adoption.