• Tue. Apr 30th, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

Side Cinema & Amber Films showcase of films by women filmmakers and writers working in the North culminates with Still Here

This Summer, Side Cinema and Amber Films has featured the work of women filmmakers working in the North both at their cinema in Newcastle and at The Barn at Easington, as part of the Great Exhibition of the North “Inspired By” programme.

The season culminates on 30th August at Side Cinema with Still Here, a new film directed by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts. Sirkka expands on her iconic photography collections Gleaners, Sari the Danger Girl and Step by Step by reconnecting with the people featured in the photographs. This beautiful trilogy of films both challenges and enriches the understanding of the original photographs.

Following the screening, Side Cinema invites the audience to stay for a talk given by Sirkka.

Ellin Hare of Amber Films commented, “In the centenary year of women suffrage, Side/Amber is excited to present a film series exploring the way our region has been observed, documented, and reimagined by women filmmakers. The season is programmed in dialogue with our exhibitions Women By Women at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts and About the North: Imagined Dialogues in our Side Gallery.”

The season, Our North, is led by Film Hub North, the regional development hub for the British Film Institute’s Film Audience Network – who have an ambition to ensure access to independent film is available across Northern England. Film Hub North is managed by three of the region’s leading independent cinemas, Showroom in Sheffield, Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle and HOME, Manchester.

Sally Folkard, Our North lead and Strategic Manager for Film Hub North said, “This is the first year of what we hope will be an annual celebration of ‘northern-ness’ in film clubs, indie cinemas, arts venues and community cinemas all across the North of England. It’s an opportunity for visitors to the North and local people to see films that explore, celebrate and spotlight the region as a whole, as well as see films very specific to their own communities. We’re really pleased that Side Cinema has been showcasing women writers, with a focus on northern-ness this summer.”

Side Cinema will screen Still Here on the 30th August at 7pm, followed by a talk by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. Tickets are priced at £6.

OUR NORTH is a season of film developed by FILM HUB NORTH and is part of the BE INSPIRED PROGRAMME BY THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE NORTH. Venues participating include:

Leigh Film, Leigh: www.leighfilmsociety.com

Side Gallery / Amber Film, Newcastle: www.amber-online.com/side-gallery

HOME, Manchester: www.homemcr.org

They Eat Culture, Preston and Lancashire: www.theyeatculture.org

Forum Cinema, Hexham: www.forumhexham.com

Storyhouse, Chester: www.storyhouse.com

Leeds Queer Film Festival, Leeds: www.leedsqueerfilmfestival.co.uk

Square Chapel, Halifax: www.squarechapel.co.uk

Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle: www.tynesidecinema.co.uk

Showroom Cinema, Sheffield: www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/cinema