Mining Review 15th Year No. 5

Once We Were Pitmen

2024

Black dust, shrill metallic noises, dark tunnels, muscular bodies – all that is the past. At the end of 2018, extraction of coal throughout Germany came to an end. That same year, the voices of the emerging climate protest movement Fridays for Future grew louder. Against the backdrop of these media and socio-political events, the film follows five miners on their tragic, humorous and heartwarming search for a new role in life.

I Am Because We Are

2008

A look into the lives of Malawi's 1 million plus orphans in the wake of the AIDS pandemic. It offers hope and real solutions to the challenges that people face living in extreme poverty.

Railway Roundabout 1958

2006

First volume of highlights from the 1950s and 1960s television series about the vanishing train lines. Here you have a chance to see the Bristol line as it looked during 1958.

Railway Roundabout 1959

2006

Another volume of highlights from the 1950s and 1960s television series about the vanishing train lines. Here you have a chance to relive some of the great train journeys in this nostalgic trip which looks at the closing of the Wye Valley, and includes a trip on the 'Brighton Belle' and a visit to King's Cross shed.

Railway Roundabout 1960

2006

Another volume of highlights from the 1950s and 1960s television series about the vanishing train lines. Here you have a chance to relive some of the great trains of the past, featuring a visit to Perth Shed and trains at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Railway Roundabout 1962

2006

Another volume of highlights from the 1950s and 1960s television series about the vanishing train lines. Here a bevvy of beautiful locomotives take the enthusiast back in time, including a journey from Ryde to Ventnor and the chance to take a spin on the Cumbrian Coast Express.

Second Chance

2013

Second Chance tells a story of Ukrainian orphaned children and the Canadian volunteers who spend their summers working along side them. The film follows first time volunteer and filmmaker, Adriana Luhovy, as she learns about the children and becomes witness to their strengths and resilience. Converging in Yaremche in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, over 500 orphaned children come together from all over the country. At first quiet and fearful, they learn to trust one another and their counsellors. By countering heartbreaking statistics - 60% of orphaned girls are trafficked within the first year of leaving the orphanage; 50% of boys end up in jail; 10% commit suicide - the volunteers are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of orphaned Ukrainian children.

TUNAHAKI

2010

Tunahaki is the extraordinary story of nine gifted orphans who are acrobats. We follow their journey as an American volunteer takes them from Africa to study with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. They end up touring the States and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, more than enough to build a permanent home. But how have the kids' experiences in America affected them? And how will it change things back home in Tanzania? Tunahaki's heartfelt journey gives us something new to ponder as we reach across the world to help those less fortunate—is it always the right thing to do?

Big Mama

2000

Eighteen months in the life of 89 years old Viola Dees as she tries of persuade Los Angeles authorities that she can care for her grandson, 9-year-old Walter.

Les enfants de Vercheny

2021

A cielo abierto, derechos minados

2009

The documentary registers the reaction of the inhabitant the communities of Imbabura, Zamora, Chinchipe and others Ecuadorian provinces under the influence of mining. The testimonies of the leaders and the protagonists tell the facts that are at the center of this story.

Bauxita

2023

Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries for environmentalists. The rural community of Belisário holds the country's second largest bauxite reserve, right below one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world: the Atlantic Forest. The small community was shaken when the beloved Gilberto, a Franciscan Friar, received a death threat followed by the lines: "you've been talking against mining way too much". PT: O Brasil é um dos países mais perigosos do mundo para defensores do meio ambiente. Em Minas Gerais, a comunidade rural de Belisário abriga a segunda maior reserva de bauxita do país, em uma das áreas de maior biodiversidade do mundo: a Mata Atlântica. A tranquilidade do pequeno vilarejo foi abalada quando Frei Gilberto, um franciscano que dedica sua vida à preservação da natureza, recebeu uma ameaça de morte com o seguinte aviso: "você tem falado demais contra a mineração".

Faith Connections

2013

A filmmaker's insight into the biggest gathering on earth -the Kumbh Mela.

500 Years

2017

From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a president, the sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala’s recent history is told through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society.

Railway Roundabout Revisited

2006

A volume of additional footage from the 1950s and 1960s series. Highlights include an insider's view of York signal box, the new 'Midland Pullman', and steam over Shap in 1963.