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Blood on the Coal

Aug 12, 2015

1h 43m

★ 7.5

The Story of the Queensland Miners.

Overview

A story of struggle and tragedy, the film features harrowing underground disasters, heroic rescues and traces a history of strikes, industrial turmoil and the current push by global mining giants to destroy regional communities and replace local mineworkers with a subservient itinerant workforce.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Matilda Films

Blood on the Coal Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

Jack Thompson

For centuries, freeminers have held the right to mine coal anywhere within the Forest of Dean. To become a freeminer, one must be over 21, born within the hundred of St Briavels, and have worked underground for a year and a day. Today, Forestry England administers the mining tradition, with only a few freeminers still venturing underground in search of the elusive ‘black gold,’ helping to keep this unique heritage alive. This short documentary offers a rare glimpse into the lives of those most connected to this fascinating practice. Through their eyes, we explore the dark depths beneath the ancient forest floor and uncover an enduring way of life.

0.0

Sydney in Time

Apr 8, 2006

Sydney in Time is a rich and powerful story that charts the evolution of Sydney from its early years as a colonial outpost through to its emergence as a dynamic world city. The one-hour documentary looks back at the people, places and front page stories that have shaped a great city and helped define Australia.

5.7

Broken Rainbow

May 5, 1985

Documentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.

8.0

Once We Were Pitmen

May 10, 2023

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.

7.2

La Buena Vida - The Good Life

Jan 21, 2015

The village of Tamaquito lies deep in the forests of Colombia. Here, nature provides the people with everything they need. But the Wayúu community's way of life is being destroyed by the vast and rapidly growing El Cerrejón coal mine. Determined to save his community from forced resettlement, the leader Jairo Fuentes negotiates with the mine's operators, which soon becomes a fight to survive.

0.0

Leaning on the tree

Jan 29, 2025

An apocalyptic sound of roaring machines incessantly intrudes into the habitats of man and nature. Barren landscapes and deserted villages linger in hypnotic restlessness. A self-destructive system meets resistance.

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4.0

The Skin of Others

Jun 10, 2020

A compelling portrait of an extraordinary figure, Aboriginal WWI soldier Douglas Grant, featuring acclaimed Indigenous actor Balang Tom E. Lewis (in his final performance). Grant (c.1885-1951) was extraordinarily famous in his day, an intellectual, a journalist, a soldier, a reader of Shakespeare and a bagpipe player who could put on a fine Scottish accent. His life story connects Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Adolf Hitler, and Henry Lawson among other famous figures as he moved from Australia to Europe, UK and back. Lewis’s thoughtful and often playful reflections on Grant’s life, along with guest appearances from Max Cullen and Archie Roach, connect to the larger story of Australia’s tragic colonial history and its troubled relationship with First Australians.  

0.0

That's the Price

Jan 1, 1970

What happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.

0.0

The Copper Kings

Nov 16, 2021

Through exploring the body as a landscape, 'The Copper Kings' plays with visual metaphors that connect the patriarchal philosophy and process of extraction to the dissection of our own bodies.

6.1

Coal Face

Jun 3, 1935

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

0.0

The Kingdom of Fun

Jan 19, 1989

The largest leisure and shopping complex in Europe, the Metro Centre in Tynemouth, and its creator John Hall.

7.7

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress

Jul 14, 2019

An account of the last two centuries of the Anthropocene, the Age of Man. How human beings have progressed so much in such a short time through war and the selfish interests of a few, belligerent politicians and captains of industry, damaging the welfare of the majority of mankind, impoverishing the weakest, greedily devouring the limited resources of the Earth.

5.0

Island Home Country

Aug 2, 2008

A poetic cine-essay about race and Australia’s colonised history and how it impacts into the present offering insights into how various individuals deal with the traumatic legacies of British colonialism and its race-based policies. The film’s consultative process, with ‘Respecting Cultures’ (Tasmanian Aboriginal Protocols), offers an evolving shift in Australian historical narratives from the frontier wars, to one of diverse peoples working through historical trauma in a process of decolonisation.

6.5

Which Side Are You On?

Apr 8, 1985

The documentary features the British miners and their family experiences told through songs, poems, pictures and words.

6.6

Shenandoah

Oct 16, 2012

An epic feature documentary about a coal mining town with a fiery immigrant heritage, once pivotal in fueling America’s industrial revolution and today in decline and struggling to survive and retain its identity, soul and values – all of which were dramatically challenged when four of the town’s white, star football players were charged in the beating death of an undocumented Mexican immigrant named Luis Ramirez. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley’s most personal work, SHENANDOAH creates a deeply felt portrait of a working class community, and the American Dream on trial.

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7.5

Tinker

Nov 1, 1949

Semi-documentary, focusing on the training young boys receive before they are sent down the mines on their first job.

0.0

WINHANGANHA

Nov 10, 2023

WINHANGANHA (Wiradjuri language: Remember, know, think) - is a lyrical journey of archival footage and sound, poetry and original composition. It is an examination of how archives and the legacies of collection affect First Nations people and wider Australia, told through the lens of acclaimed Wiradjuri artist, Jazz Money.

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0.0

Nazi Supergrass

Jul 21, 1993

This documentary explores the life and times of Russell Dean Willey, a neo-Nazi supergrass, in order to explain the presence of Jack Van Tongeren's Australian Nationalists Movement in Australia, and its spread, especially in difficult economic times.

0.0

Federation

Jan 1, 1999

An epic tale about the making of Australia. This tells the stories of the founding fathers and of the people in six separate colonies in the decades leading to Federation. It's a tale of winners and losers, of great debates which unified the country, of the struggle not just to make an Australian nation, but to create Australian democracy.

Blood on the Coal

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Blood on the Coal Trailers