With Babies and Banners Story of the Womens Emergency Brigade (1978)

With Babies and Banners Story of the Womens Emergency Brigade is a 1979 documentary film directed by Lorraine Gray about the General Motors sitdown strike in 19361937 that focuses uniquely on the role of women using archival footage and interviews It provides an inside look at womens roles in the strike The film was one of the first to put together archival footage with contemporary interviews of participants and helped spur a series of films on left and labor history in the US utilizing this technique The film was also important in helping bring into view the history of American women being active in the public sphere particularly in union and labor actions The film was further ground breaking because it was produced and directed by women It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature