NEWS: Left Film Front @ Tyneside Cinema

If you’ve been embedded in the cinematic universes of comic books, then the Film & Photo League’s name might suggest that they were some kind of superhuman force. In their own way, they kind of were. Except the League’s powers weren’t unhuman strength or the capability of single-handedly taking down supervillains. Instead, they had the remarkable ability to document life in the 1930s as it really was using film and photography, standing in opposition to the version of reality presented by official newsreels.

Tyneside Cinema’s 2018 Artist in Residence, Cambridge-based filmmaker Samuel Stevens, has been working in tandem with the Newcastle institution to explore more about the little-known group, meeting with community groups and arts organisations to uncover their history as part of his own research. On Thursday 23^rd August, he’ll be piecing together these findings alongside archive footage, as well as discussing the social links between what the League presented in the 1930s and today, including welfare rights. The free event will undoubtedly be a fascinating, illuminating insight into an extraordinary group of documentary filmmakers and photographers.