TURNERS FALLS — A documentary on the intersection of immigrant workers’ rights and soccer will be shown at the Shea Theater Arts Center on Friday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m.
The 25-minute film, “La Liga,” focuses on immigrant farmworkers in Vermont as they organize to demand better working conditions, while finding solace in soccer, which served as a place for workers to mix labor organization and recreation.
Co-Director MacPherson Christopher explained that the film arose from his time working with immigrant dairy workers in Burlington in 2018, who were working to achieve better conditions at the farms. Christopher worked with the nonprofit Migrant Justice, which got Ben and Jerry’s to sign on to a program called “Milk with Dignity.”
This program works with stakeholders of the dairy industry to ensure proper working conditions for farmworkers, who largely come from immigrant backgrounds.
The idea for the documentary was born out of the work Christopher did with Migrant Justice when filming testimonials of farmworkers who were with the Milk with Dignity program. While filming, he learned about the annual soccer tournament the farmworkers would participate in. This use of sports to alleviate their struggles, and being a place for continued labor rights organizing, inspired a more longform film on the community.
“This idea spawned about how movement is built, and how soccer is this meeting ground,” Christopher said. “With the meeting ground and the passion for sport, then comes the community, comes the solidarity.”
Christopher went on to continue working with Vermont’s immigrant dairy workers through the COVID-19 pandemic and in the years after, also showcasing the work done to get Hannaford supermarket to join the Milk with Dignity program, as it is one the largest grocery suppliers in New England.
Christopher said since the film has wrapped, it is now being shown at theaters as they begin the screening circuit. So far, the film has been screened in Vermont and will be shown in New York City at the DOC NYC, which is said to be the largest documentary film festival in the United States. “La Liga” also won an Audience Award at the 2025 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.
Although the film centers on the plight and community of Vermont immigrant farmworkers, the struggles they face and their goals for community make the story universal to other immigrant communities in New England and beyond, Christopher said.
“It’s a national storyline of immigrant workers being overlooked, being mistreated, being persecuted, so it’s an international story on that level,” Christopher explained. “It’s an extremely unique place, and the state has an extremely unique history, but I think workers fighting for their rights, fighting for their dignity, that’s relevant everywhere.”
Tickets to see “La Liga” are available at the Shea Theater website at tinyurl.com/2dee67fc. After the screening, Christopher will stay to answer questions about the film.
