Gino Canella is a documentary filmmaker and assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Emerson College. His research and creative work explore activist media, documentary filmmaking, and labor. Gino studies how grassroots organizers use media to foster solidarity and reframe race and social justice.
Documenting Labor and Democratizing Research
Front Line (2021) documents the historic nursing strike at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. More than 700 St. Vincent nurses were on strike for 10 months in 2021, due to concerns about safe staffing. Nurses argued that high nurse-to-patient ratios made it difficult for them to provide adequate care for their patients.
According to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union representing the nurses, negotiations with Tenet Healthcare—the investor-owned healthcare corporation that owns the hospital—failed to address staffing and compelled the nurses to strike.
This film places viewers on the picket line in Worcester and examines this historic labor action from the perspectives of nurses.
Written, Directed and Edited by Gino Canella
Special thank you to the nurses of St. Vincent Hospital and the Massachusetts Nurses Association