A screening of two works from the Amber Films archives, followed by a Q&A

Friday 16th October 2026, The Liberal Club at 4pm and 7.30pm

Q&A after the screenings

Tickets £5

The Scar

1997, UK, 1hr 54 min, Amber Production Team, Drama/Doc, Language: English

The Scar is a 1997 film by Amber Films, The narrative explores the lives of women in East Durham following the closure of the last collieries, focusing on their resilience amidst economic and social upheaval. Set against the backdrop of a community in transition, the film examines themes of loss, survival, and adaptation, as families struggle to find new identities in the wake of industrial decline.

At the heart of the story is May Murton (Charlie Hardwick), a woman left to navigate the collapse of her marriage, a fractured community, and teenage children (Darren Bell and Katja Roberts) increasingly out of control. Her estranged husband (Brian Hogg) has retreated to the allotments, while May finds herself drawn into a tentative new relationship with the manager of an open-cast coal mine (Bill Speed), whom she meets on the eve of the Miners’ Gala. The film takes a deeply personal approach to the broader socio-economic shifts in the coalfield, drawing on the participation of women who had been involved in the Support Groups during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, reflecting Amber’s long-standing commitment to working within the communities they document.

Last Shift

1976, UK, 17 min, Amber Films, Language: English

Last shift is a short documentary by Amber Films that records the final days of a small brickworks in Swalwell, on the south bank of the Tyne. When the Adamsez bathroom ware factory closed in 1975, this small brickworks also shut down. For years, a handful of men had produced high-quality refractory bricks using traditional methods, with little change from the past. Recognising the importance of recording this disappearing craft, Amber set out to document the process before it was lost.

Screenings with kind permission from AmberSide, Newcastle.

Stills from The Scar, 1997, and Last Shift, 1976 ©Amber Films.

Description supplied by the event organiser.