Social Cinema
Our moving image heritage can be described as looking into a mirror from the past: what we see reflected can shine a light on the cracks that we see in our world.
This programme of short films, produced by the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives, explores social and political issues including gender equality, homelessness and poverty, isolation, and climate justice that resonate with the present and help us reflect on our future.
The screening evokes a rollercoaster of emotions: sometimes sad but also filled with hope as we ask questions about ourselves, our communities, our society and what we can learn from the past.
Social Cinema will be screening at events across the region during Autumn/Winter 2023. It will be available to book by groups and organisations from April 2024 onwards. If you would like to register your interest, please email us.
Social Cinema is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.
The programme comprises:
Born a Rebel (2018)
Stories of rebellion. Stories of bravery. Stories of women who aren’t waiting for permission to take what they want. From women’s suffrage and women in political life, to women in the home and women at war, the film addresses how women and girls have been represented on film.
Commissioned by Cinema for All as part of Vote 100 - celebrating the centenary of women’s suffrage.
Lost Connections (2021)
The film invites reflections on loss, loneliness, isolation, and expressions of desire, optimism, hope, and renewal, referencing universal issues of mental health and well-being, feelings of uncertainty and disconnection but also our need to reconnect with people and community.
Commissioned by Film Hub North on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.
Cost of Living (2022)
As we live through the deepest cost of living crisis for over fifty years, this film expresses the fury and anger of generations whose essential needs for safe housing, secure work and full bellies go unfulfilled. Despite their difficulties, people come together as communities to help those in need and raise a fist of defiance.
Commissioned by York St John University’s Cinema and Social Justice Project.
Nature Matters (2023)
Protecting the environment is one of the major issues of our time, provoking debate and action across all generations. This film reveals the shifting concerns over the decades about issues which impact on our natural world, alongside recent footage of quests for more sustainable lifestyles.
Commissioned by York St John University and the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives’ National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Nature Matters.
