The Global Assembly Line

THE GLOBAL ASSEMBLY LINE takes viewers inside our new global economy.

Lorraine Gray’s Emmy Award winning, classic film is a vivid portrayal of the lives of working women here and abroad, as U.S. industries close their factories to search the globe for lower-wage work forces.

We take a rare look at the people who make the electronic goods we use and the clothing we wear — and the business decisions behind manufacturing on the global assembly line. Filmed on location: Silicon Valley, US-Mexico border, rural Tennessee & The Philippines.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Tribute Series / Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — The Emmy Award /  Museum of Modern Art — New Directors-New Films Series / Leipzig International Film Festival — Blue Ribbon Award / National Educational Film Festival — Golden Apple Award / American Film Festival — Blue Ribbon Award & more. Lorraine Gray / Director-Producer-Writer

“A powerful look at the human face of dramatic changes in the global economy. . . Artfully filmed.” The Washington Post

“The subject is so rich. . . Miss Gray’s sympathy for the workers in the three countries gives her work heart.” The New York Times

“Conflicting interests divide classes, genders, management and labor, elites and citizens, police and civilians, both within and across nations. Complexity lurks everywhere. . . If the analytic foundation is clear, however, it does not intrude on the visual and emotional message. The film is superbly photographed, honestly interpretive where polemic tempts.” Contemporary Sociology

“The product of a four-year study by director Lorraine Gray, social-anthropologist Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly and co-producer Anne Bohlen…” The Washington Post

The film is… intimately direct in portraits of the young women who predominate on the assembly lines.” Contemporary Sociology

“Seamless and comprehensive… visually rich, superbly photographed… all of it original.” Contemporary Sociology

“The film shows us scenes most Americans never see… There is brutality and misery in this film, but also a little hope.” The Washington Post