NOSOTROS DEL BAUEN
Director REICHENBACH JEREMIE, ZYSERMAN DIDIER
Countries France
Duration 95 min
Synopsis
The Bauen hotel was built in the heart of the city of Buenos Aires, under the military dictatorship, to host the 1978 world football cup. For the last 23 years the hotel staff has served the Argentinean elite, and has welcomed tourists from all over the world. In December 2001, as the country collapsed into a deep economical crisis, the hotel went bankrupt and the staff was made redundant. The place remained disused then, in March 2003, thirty ex-members of staff decided to return to the hotel: they created the Bauen Workers Cooperative, renovated the premises and reopened the place in March 2004. Ever sine, they have adopted a joint –workers management control, sharing tasks and salaries, voting all decisions over general assemblies. Today they are struggling against their ex-managers as they want to own the premise : Which of the two opposite sides will win ? The labor right? or the property right ? From this unique spot, the film goes down into the essence of joint-worker management control and reveals today’s Argentina.
The Bauen hotel was built in the heart of the city of Buenos Aires, under the military dictatorship, to host the 1978 world football cup. For the last 23 years the hotel staff has served the Argentinean elite, and has welcomed tourists from all over the world. In December 2001, as the country collapsed into a deep economical crisis, the hotel went bankrupt and the staff was made redundant. The place remained disused then, in March 2003, thirty ex-members of staff decided to return to the hotel: they created the Bauen Workers Cooperative, renovated the premises and reopened the place in March 2004. Ever sine, they have adopted a joint –workers management control, sharing tasks and salaries, voting all decisions over general assemblies. Today they are struggling against their ex-managers as they want to own the premise : Which of the two opposite sides will win ? The labor right? or the property right ? From this unique spot, the film goes down into the essence of joint-worker management control and reveals today’s Argentina.