BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The world premiere of “Baristas vs. Billionaires” drew a crowd to the North Park Theatre Friday night to kick off the 19th annual Buffalo Film Festival.
This film was brought to life by local Starbucks baristas and an Academy Award-winning team that includes Mark Mori and Alec Baldwin.
“I love the story and I love the people,” said Baldwin, the film’s contributing producer.
Film leaders said it goes far beyond what meets the eye.
“When I found out the story about young people basically being kind of abused by the system, I’ve seen that myself before as a kid. You work and get treated a certain way if you’re young and I followed the union effort and so forth, and then Mark told me he was going to make the movie,” said Baldwin.
“These young people who are needing this union movement are an inspiration to a lot of people,” said Mori, the film’s director.
The film explores the battle between a generation of workers and a billionaire CEO — and it all started right here in Buffalo.
“It’s about the Starbucks union drive, which started at a single store, the Elmwood Avenue Starbucks here in Buffalo, and became a national movement. Now more than 650 Starbucks stores are unionized with 12,000 members as a result of something that started on Elmwood Avenue,” said Mori.
“(The) Starbucks community who launched this whole thing, they should be very proud of themselves. I think it’s a great film,” said Baldwin.
Some of the footage in the film even comes from WIVB News 4, bringing the local feel to another level.
Film festival leaders say this is only the beginning of an incredible week.
“This is a perfect time for people to come and support what we stand for,” said Annette Daniels Taylor, a Buffalo Film Festival board member. “To bring filmmakers together in Buffalo, local and international, and to honor Buffalo filmmaking and to bring it to the people that live here.”
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Angelica Gallagher is a Lancaster native who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work here.
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