#labor-activism

#labor-activism

This winter, they present the Alt Awards, a lineup of films from last year that are influential, innovative, and (in their opinion) the all-around best of 2025. Some of the selections overlap with anticipated Oscar darlings (One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value), while others are less mainstream (Fuck My Son!, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You). Categories include most brutal, cover-your-eyes gore (The Ugly Stepsister), most tense family dinner scene (Father Mother Sister Brother),

Nellie attended Oakland High School when her family moved to a neighborhood outside of Chinatown after World War II, the beginnings of integration for ethnic Chinese residents who'd lived under the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943). Her early life, into her late 20s, was rooted in the patriarchal culture in Chinatown and the white American mainstream. That oppression did not sustain her. Nellie's intelligence, creativity, and compassion yearned to break free.

Benavides' stylistically polyglot score draws on his full spectrum of influences, with electric guitar and saxophone included in the chamber ensemble "to give it some edge."