Every Saturday | 30 August - 1 November 12 - 4pm | Opening event - Saturday 30 August 4 - 6pm | Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival
The Burr of Berwick Film Library presents Miners’ Weekend School (1984), a six-part documentary produced by Amber Films’ Current Affairs Unit during the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike. This exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of the strike and invites reflection on mutual aid, working-class self-education, and the role of grassroots organising in resisting anti-strike legislation.
Filmed in Ashington, the tapes document a grassroots weekend of political education, where miners and activists gathered to strategise, organise, and support one another. Topics include police tactics, legal rights, media bias, support groups, and union coordination—issues that remain urgent today.
Part of Amber’s radical legacy in British cinema, footage from the Miners’ Weekend School also featured in News from Durham (1984) and led to Can’t Beat It Alone (1985).
About the Film Library:
The Burr of Berwick Film Library is a community video archive and exhibition series. Open and evolving, the Burr Film Library offers a shared space for screenings, discussions, and creativity.
Based at 22 Bridge Street, the Film Library is open Saturdays 12 – 4pm. The Library also travels to present pop-up events at spaces and occasions around town.
With the potential to speak to personal memories and experiences, the films reflect and respond to real-world topics. Everyone is invited to pop in for a cuppa and share ideas and stories, or delve into the Library’s themes through events and workshops.
About Amber Films & Side Gallery:
Amber Films, based in Newcastle, have played a key role in shaping British cinema, particularly as a key player in negotiating the Workshop Declaration and partnering with Channel 4, which provided financial support and creative freedom. This led to diverse outputs, including the creation of the Amber Current Affairs Unit, created initially to co-ordinate work on the NUM (National Union of Mineworkers), and the production of more responsive works like T. Dan Smith (1987) and From Marks & Spencer to Marx and Engels (1989).
Amber’s Current Affairs Unit (1983-5) offered an opportunity to examine current issues surrounding working class self-education, exploring the conditions surrounding workers rights and community organising today. The role therein of community media initiatives, to interrogate anti-union legislation, the polarisation of the media.
The Amber Film & Photography Collective retired in 2024, however their work and the UNESCO registered Amber Side Collection is safeguarded by Side, founded by Amber in 1977. Thanks to support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, this vital cultural record, documenting working class life from the North East and beyond, will be preserved for generations to come.
To follow the ongoing journey Side and its community, visit
sidegallery.co.uk, or follow them on Instagram at @amber_sidegallery.
T: 01289385789
E: [email protected]
W: https://bfmaf.org/