Calendar – Past Event

First GM shuts down Janesville's century-old plant, causing mass layoffs and exile in search of work. Then newly elected governor Scott Walker ignites a firestorm by introducing a bill to end collective bargaining, unleashing a fury of protest and sparking a recall election.

Brad Lichtenstein's As Goes Janesville tells the epic tale from the inside, following three years in the lives of laid-off workers trying to reinvent themselves; business leaders aligned with the governor to promote a pro business agenda that they believe will woo new companies to town, and a state senator caught in the middle, trying to bring peace to his warring state and protect workers' rights. As Goes Janesville, so goes America, a country mired in polarization and falling short of the American Dream.

As Goes Janesville, which earned a Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund grant in 2011, is also supported by The MacArthur Foundation and ITVS.

The film airs October 8 on PBS' Independent Lens.