Reel Local News:

A look at the Bay Area labor film festival.

“We the Workers,” Wen Hai’s epic documentary recounting Chinese factory workers’ struggle for their rights, kicks off Filmworks United International Film & Video Festival, part of LaborFest 2018, screening next Sunday, July 1.

Among the other films in the program are “A Taxi Driver,” a fact-based drama about a 1980 rebellion in Korea; Raoul Peck’s biopic “The Young Karl Marx”; and a 50th anniversary retrospective screening of “Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win,” a documentary limning striking workers at a Renault auto plant during the May-June 1968 general strike in France. The festival closes on July 26 with a screening of two short 2018 documentaries, “Reserve Slaves” (”Schiavi di Riserva”) and “Turkey on the Edge.”

Filmworks United International Film & Video Festival, next Sunday, July 1-July 26. All screenings are free. www.laborfest.net

The return of “Twelve Pianos”: Filmmaker and musician Dean Mermell will screen and discuss his documentary “Twelve Pianos” on Thursday, June 28, at the Smith Rafael Film Center, in a run-up to the July 5-16 “Flower Piano IV” at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The film weaves the tale of “Sunset Piano,” artist Mauro ffortissimo and Mermell’s ongoing project (which includes “Flower Piano”) that promotes piano culture by making the instruments available in public, open-air locations.

“Twelve Pianos,” 7:15 p.m., Thursday, June 28, Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, $8.50$11.75 https://rafaelfilm.cafilm.org/ Fall after-school media making program: Bay Area Video Coalition is accepting applications for its Next Gen after-school program. Teens work with filmmakers, game designers, animators and more as they learn to use media to tell stories. Other aspects of the program include field trips, guest speakers and instruction on interviewing techniques, resume writing and building a LinkedIn profile. There is even a financial literacy workshop.

Students will work on personal projects during fall 2018 sessions. Those who elect to participate during spring 2019 will work on an environmental justice project for a BAVC client. Students who complete that project will receive a $250 stipend.

Next Gen is accepting applications through August 31. The program is free and open to San Francisco students, ages 14-17. The fall semester runs 4:30-6:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 11-Dec. 13. https://bavc.org film nerd Jerry Lee will host John Waters’ 1972 underground classic “Pink Flamingos,” 9:30 p.m., Thursday, June 28, at the Roxie. A drag performance paying homage to the film in which Divine stars as the filthiest woman alive precedes the screening. Presented by Film School Drop Outs. www.roxie.com  The SFFilm Rainin Filmmaking Grant is now accepting applications. The grants for screenwriting, development and postproduction support narrative features with a social justice theme. Grants are open to filmmakers in the U.S. and internationally with priority given to filmmakers based in the Bay Area. Deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Aug. 8, with a late deadline of 5 p.m. Aug. 29. Awards are announced in the fall. www.sffilm.org  Tickets for “Animating a Dunk,” a Walt Disney Family Museum animation workshop for adults 18+ that will teach students the principles of exaggeration, timing and silhouette, are now on sale. The program is presented in conjunction with the exhibit “Make Believe: The Art of Glen Keane.” Keane is the director of the 2017 Oscar-winning short “Dear Basketball.” 10:30 a.m.-noon, July 7. $10/$15. https:// waltdisney.org

Pam Grady is a Bay Area freelance writer.

Icarus Films “We the Workers” follows a group of factory workers in China.