The history of industrial films—an orphan genre of twentieth-century cinema composed of government-produced and industrially sponsored movies that sought to achieve the goals of their
sponsors, rather than the creative artists involved—seems to have left no trace in filmic cultural discourse. At its height the industrial film industry employed thousands, produced several
trade journals and festival circuits, engaged with giants of twentieth-century industry like Shell and AT & T, and featured the talents of iconic actors and directors such as Buster
Keaton, John Grierson, and Alain Resnais. Films that Work is the first full-length book, anthology, and annotated bibliography to explore the industrial film and its remarkable
history. Exploring the potential of the industrial film to uncover renewed and unexplored areas of media studies, this remarkable volume brings together renowned scholars such as Edward
Dimendberg and Thomas Elsaesser in a discussion of the radical potential and new possibilities in considering the history of this unexplored corporate medium.
