A Whole Lott More

Al-Jazeera debuted a specially edited version of “A Whole Lott More” on their Witness strand (video only available outside of the US)

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Loreen Arbus, the Executive Producer of 'A Whole Lott More' speaks to MSNBC’s Alex Witt

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An award-winning documentary has highlighted the need for a more flexible employment market and a more inclusive society, according to disabled campaigners who attended a screening of the film by the UN.

A Whole Lott More follows the progress of the employees of a sheltered workshop in Toledo, USA, originally set up by parents of disabled children, and funded by the local authority.

The film charts the progress of two disabled employees of Lott Industries, the workshop’s non-disabled manager, and the disabled son of another employee, as the local authority decides to “restructure” the business and then close the factories completely.

There are strong echoes of the decisions taken by both the Labour and coalition governments in the UK to withdraw subsidies and close the sheltered factories run by Remploy.

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Buhler says the closure of factories staffed by disabled workers is "the price of progress". He believes the factories were relevant 50 years ago but the way forward now has to involve private business, not the state.

"I have spoken to a lot of the working people with disabilities and for almost all the utmost priority is a good paying job," says Buhler.

"A decent paid job helps them to stay independent or to spend money on activities they enjoy and that also keep them connected to the community. It's no different to anyone else."

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“I loved a Whole Lott More. It is compelling, and moving, of course; but troubling too, a reminder of how fragile the employment support systems for disabled workers are, and how, if we want to be regarded as a decent society, we neglect them at our peril”

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"A WHOLE LOTT MORE is essential viewing.  It is a very moving film that examines today's economy from a unique perspective.  The film has a lot of relevance here in the UK where many people with disabilities remain isolated from the general workforce.  I highly recommend the film to all."

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You can’t help but fall in love with the unique cast of characters that make up the inspired film, A Whole Lott More. Director Victor Buhler successfully gives voice to an intelligent and motivated part of our world’s community that is often misunderstood and overlooked.

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The most complicated examination of the financial crisis and contemporary capitalism this year wasn't to be found at Sundance, SXSW or Tribeca. "A Whole Lott More" premiered a few weeks ago at Toronto's Hot Docs, where it placed third in the festival's Audience Award poll.

While it doesn't rehearse the usual indictments of offshore bank accounts, predatory lending, insider trading and the like, "A Whole Lott More" is an incredibly complicated look at the financial crisis told through Lott Industries in Toledo, Ohio. Over the years, Lott Industries developed as part of its operation a program that employed people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to work manufacturing and sending out small car parts. With that, comes confidence and class consciousness; the workers are represented on the plant's labor board.

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