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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) \u2014 The world premiere of \u201cBaristas vs. Billionaires\u201d drew a crowd to the North Park Theatre Friday night to kick off the 19th annual Buffalo Film Festival.<\/p>\n
This film was brought to life by local Starbucks baristas and an Academy Award-winning team that includes Mark Mori and Alec Baldwin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the story and I love the people,\u201d said Baldwin, the film\u2019s contributing producer.<\/p>\n
Film leaders said it goes far beyond what meets the eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out the story about young people basically being kind of abused by the system, I\u2019ve seen that myself before as a kid. You work and get treated a certain way if you\u2019re young and I followed the union effort and so forth, and then Mark told me he was going to make the movie,\u201d said Baldwin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese young people who are needing this union movement are an inspiration to a lot of people,\u201d said Mori, the film\u2019s director.<\/p>\n
The film explores the battle between a generation of workers and a billionaire CEO \u2014 and it all started right here in Buffalo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d said Mori.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The) Starbucks community who launched this whole thing, they should be very proud of themselves. I think it\u2019s a great film,\u201d said Baldwin.<\/p>\n
Some of the footage in the film even comes from WIVB News 4, bringing the local feel to another level.<\/p>\n
Film festival leaders say this is only the beginning of an incredible week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a perfect time for people to come and support what we stand for,\u201d said Annette Daniels Taylor, a Buffalo Film Festival board member. \u201cTo bring filmmakers together in Buffalo, local and international, and to honor Buffalo filmmaking and to bring it to the people that live here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelica Gallagher is a Lancaster native who joined the News 4 team in 2025.<\/em> See more of her work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n