I Have Never Done Anything Like This Before

From the collection of

The North East Film Archive, based at Teesside University, save and celebrate the screen heritage of the North East of England. At the heart of their collection are films made by, and for, local people, reflecting and representing the communities, places and distinctive identity of the region. Together with their sister archive in Yorkshire they form the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive, a unique pan-regional resource with over 75,000 moving image artefacts, part of York St John University. They unlock the collections for artists, academics, curators, programmers, researchers, and producers to reveal compelling stories from the vaults. www.yfanefa.com

I Have Never Done Anything Like This Before

North East Film Archive
Westminster
1 Jan 1984
Sound

The continuation on the Women's Video Project recording accounts of North East women on the front lines of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike.

While lacking the sheen of other more professional filmmakers, those involved in the Women's Video Project make up for this with the ability to capture both the energy and passions of those they record as well as being in the right place at the right time. Little is known either about the filmmakers or their subjects, but the two tapes that have been digitised and made available as part of BFI Heritage 2022, capture the raw, honest involvement of North East women on the front line of the dispute with many of the saying, “I've never done anything like this before."

Speeches of North East women on the front lines of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike are followed by an interview with an older woman (Chopwell) who discusses women's involvement in 1926 strike. The final part of the films comes from the picket line at Sacristan colliery, where police are seen holding back the women as 'scab' workers are driven into the mine. The women talk about their experiences of being on the picket line and police brutality.

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From the collection

Miners' Strike in the North East

The 1984-85 Miners' Strike seen from the point-of-view of both men and women fighting together to protect a way of life.

These unseen films, produced and collected by Gateshead-based independent production company Trade Films, look at the fight of the miners during and shortly after the 1984-85 Miners' Strike. While many focus on the traditional male-orientated side of the dispute, several take a different approach by focusing their attention on the wives, mothers and daughters of miners, who fought just as hard as the men to protect jobs and a way of life. Trade Films was founded in 1982, and specialised in political documentaries and TV productions with an emphasis on industry in the North East and the trade union movement.

28 videos in this collection

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Ann Lilburn

Whittle Colliery
1984

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Arthur Scargill

Sheffield
1984

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