The increasingly omnipotent role of the market in the modern world is the subject of two worthy documentaries screening in Buffalo this weekend. The extensive use of private military companies (PMCs) in the Iraq War is the subject of Shadow Company, a documentary that has been praised for providing an objective look at a polarizing subject. Filmmakers Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque contrast the pop culture image of mercenaries with the reality of men who work—and sometimes die—in an industry that has more than $100 billion in annual revenues and 70,000 employees in Iraq alone. It shows at Squeaky Wheel on Friday. The next night, Hallwalls presents China Blue, winner of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Award at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam. Working clandestinely, filmmaker Micha Peled presents the working conditions at a Chinese factory that defies international labor laws, using teenagers around the clock to manufacture inexpensive blue jeans for clients in countries including the United States.

Shadow Company: Friday, 8pm. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main Street (884-7172, squeaky.org). $6 nonmembers, $4 members.

China Blue: Saturday, 8pm. Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Avenue (854-1694, hallwalls.org). $7 general, $5 students/seniors, $4 members.