A group of Steelworkers Local 6500 leaders and their supporters are among a very select group of people to have seen Michael Moore's new documentary film, Capitalism: A Love Story.

Moore, an Academy Award-winning American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator, set up a private screening Sept. 19 in one of the theatres at Silver City Cinemas. Moore is known for documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko.

Capitalism: A Love Story focuses on the history of capitalism in the United States, particularly on the events that led to last year's economic meltdown.

This was only the third screening of his film in North America.The film will not be released for general audiences in theatres until Oct. 2. Security was tight at the private screening, with all cell phones and camera equipment confiscated from audience members.

The filmmaker has been supportive of the union members, who are on strike against the Brazilian mining giant Vale Inco. Moore also appeared Sept. 14 with five members of Local 6500 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his film was being shown.

The audience clapped and cheered several times throughout the documentary, including during a scene where union members in a window and door factory, which was shut down because of the recession, win the right to be paid their final wages after staging a sit-in.

Local 6500 treasurer Kevin Conley said Moore had paid to rent the theatre used for the film screening in Sudbury himself.

“Michael wanted to be here tonight, but he's in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He couldn't get out of an engagement there,” said Conley.

Conley said Moore is “really taken by our (the striking Steelworkers') struggle.”

“He (Moore) knows Leo Gerard our international president. Leo's a Sudbury boy and a member of our local. They (Moore and Gerard) have been in communications back and forth.”

Mayor John Rodriguez, who spoke to the audience before the film, said he'd seen the live version of Capitalism: A Love Story during his years as an NDP MP in the House of Commons.

He said lobbyists for big business hung around Parliament “like flies on honey,” trying to get financial regulations removed so they could get bigger.

Randi and Jill Condie were among those in the audience. Randi, a retired Steelworker, had been given tickets at a rally in support of the striking union members earlier in the day.

He admitted that he'd never seen one of Moore's films before, but he was excited about the screening because his daughter is a fan, and she's told him about them.

“I think it's great that he's (Moore is) supporting the Steelworkers. The whole movie is about capitalism. It falls right in line with a corporate giant like Vale from a third-world country coming over here and taking our resources.”

Sandra Boyd, director of the Women of Steel singing group, said she thought it was “awesome” that Moore would put the strike in Sudbury “front and centre.”

“I think he's (Moore is) a man with a social conscience. That's how he lives life. So I'm not surprised at all that he would be concerned (about the Steelworkers' cause). It just illustrates for him graphically the theme of this movie - capitalism gone awry.”