Project Detail

Black Snow

Synopsis

Winner of the UKRI/AHRC Best Research Film 2018 Award, and over 60 other awards and official selections globally, Black Snow looks at the explosion at the Oaks Colliery in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, which despite being the world’s worst industrial loss of life in the 19th century, was a tragedy that remained relatively unremembered until 2015, when a group of ex-miners, trade unionists, and local historians attempted to raise money to erect a memorial for its 150th anniversary. The film tells three interlocking stories: the story of a historical community devastated by the disaster, struggling to survive; the story of a contemporary community, decimated by the loss of industry, rediscovering itself in the struggle to remember; and the story of a sculptor, struggling to make one last masterpiece. It features an original score by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominee Jed Grimes and Mercury Music Prize winner Robin File.

Details

Year
2017
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
22 min 58 sec
Format
PAL HD 1920 x 1080 16:9
Director
Stephen Linstead
Producer
Andy Lawrence
Co-Producer
Stephen Linstead
Editor
Stephen Linstead, Andy Lawrence
Screenwriter
Stephen Linstead
Director of Photography
Andy Lawrence
Production Designer
Bryan Ledgard
Sound
Stephen Linstead
Composer
Jed Grimes, Rob File
Principal cast
Tony Banks, John Bercow, Bob Chiswick, Peter Davies, Paul Hardman, Graham Ibbeson, Dan Jarvis, Stephen Linstead, Stephen Miller, Barry Moore, Andrew Munro, Anne Munro, Victoria Munro, Chris Skidmore, Steve Wyatt.
Sound Recording
Andy Lawrence
Sound Assistance
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich, Leah Vinter Sonne
Still Photography
Marianne Atkinson, Paul Hardman, Andy Lawrence Bryan Ledgard, Stephen Linstead

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Bellebete Productions, Filmmaking for Fieldwork

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A group of women sitting in their olive groves. Here to Stay

Director: Sheida Kiran

Year: 2026

In a remote village in southeast Turkey, 35-year-old Meryem begins the annual olive harvest. For generations, the groves have sustained the village women's livelihoods, but this year, the harvest takes place under a shadow of fear. Following a devastating earthquake that destroyed Meryem’s home, 60% of the village’s olive lands have been seized by the government to build a new satellite city. As the concrete edge presses steadily toward their remaining fields, this harvest may be their last. Once a stay-at-home mother, Meryem picks up a camera to document the slow unraveling of her community. Women, previously confined to the home, step into public life - leading protests, sit-ins, and a landmark lawsuit alongside thousands of indigenous landowners, to protect the land they have tended for centuries. Interweaving Meryem’s video diaries with observational footage, the film moves between intimate scenes of the family harvest and the female-led resistance. As the movement unfolds, the once-perfect harvest is gradually disrupted by destruction. HERE TO STAY tells the story of a people’s fight for justice, tracing how tragedy transforms Meryem from mother to resistance leader, as she seeks to protect the land she calls home.

Milan, 2026 : Right Place Right Time Milan, 2026 : Right Place Right Time

Director: Devika Shallivan

Year: 2026

Milan, 2026 – Right Place Right Time follows the untold human stories behind the Winter Olympics, capturing fleeting moments of triumph, struggle, and serendipity. Through the eyes of athletes, spectators, and creators, the film explores how being in the right place at the right time can transform ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences, revealing the cultural, emotional, and personal dimensions of one of the world’s largest sporting events.

A natural beehive Conscious

Director: Suki Chan

Year: 2026

In an era of increasing brain fog and cognitive decline a profound exploration of humanity’s greatest conundrum - the nature of consciousness and self. A powerful, dream-like journey delving into the hearts and minds of four individuals whose lives intersect at the threshold of memory and reality. A quartet of voices: Maureen Winfield represents the struggle of the caregiver - her husband regressed to the period when they were engaged and no longer recognised her or the home they lived in for 40 years; Wendy Mitchell, diagnosed with young-onset dementia, embodies resilience, she uses ingenious coping mechanisms to navigate her changing perceptions; Pegeen O’Sullivan, daughter of novelist Liam O’Flaherty, offers a surprising perspective - although she has lost her memories, she has also been liberated her from fears; providing a scientific counterpoint is neuroscientist Anil Seth, who suggests that our "normal" reality is itself a form of controlled hallucination. By weaving together deeply personal lived experiences with performance and scientific theory, CONSCIOUS illustrates how dementia shifts our internal worlds. The film challenges our preconceptions of ageing, and shows us that whilst there are devastating losses on on the dementia journey, there can also be triumphant gains.