National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
This film is part of Free
Rhondda and Wye
The clear waters of the River Wye and the rural areas it flows through offer a stark contrast to the industrialised Rhondda where the River Taff runs black with coal dust.
From the collection of:
Overview
A potted history of agriculture and coal mining, contrasting the course of the River Wye, as it flows through rural areas from Pumlumon to the sea at Chepstow, and the industrialised Rhondda where the River Taff runs black with coal dust. The Treforest Trading Estate, a new venture, proves that times are a-changing, with light industry now offering alternative jobs for both men and women in the valleys.
This film includes footage from films ‘The Silent Village’ (a Crown Film Unit Production, 1943) and ‘To-day We Live – a film of life in Britain’ (produced by the Strand Film Company, 1937). This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
Miner Miner
Documentary 1950 36 mins Silent Location: Featherstone
Absorbing overview of coalmining in the early years of nationalisation.
Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 2 mins
Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.
Energy Energy
Advert 1935 42 mins Silent Location: Cardiff/Caerdydd
Coal, between the world wars, makes the industrialised world go round and Cory Bros & Co Ltd, with collieries in south Wales and oil refineries across the globe, is a major player.
Big Pit Big Pit
Industry sponsored film 1978 7 mins Location: Blaenavon
Memories of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, as it nears its end.
Guilty Chimneys Guilty Chimneys
Documentary 1954 18 mins
Elegiac sponsored film imploring viewers to "allow the sun to penetrate the haze of ignorance" and relieve British cities of pollution.
People Will Always Need Coal People Will Always Need Coal
Advert 1975 1 mins
Deliriously kitsch recruitment ad for the implausibly glamorous world of coalmining.
Single Suckled Calves Single Suckled Calves
Government sponsored film 1964 9 mins Location: Sennybridge
The fine looking Hereford cattle in this film are bred in Breconshire and Radnorshire under the ‘premium bull scheme’.
Opening of New Market at Builth Wells Opening of New Market at Builth Wells
Amateur film 1953 4 mins Silent Location: Builth Wells/Llanfair-Ym-Muallt
October 1953 brings a red letter day for the farming community of a small Welsh town.
The Wye Country 1952 The Wye Country 1952
Amateur film 1952 21 mins Silent Location: Llangurig
From source to estuary – the way of the Wye and the beautiful border country
This is a B.D.D.A. film taken by members of Cardiff Branch This is a B.D.D.A. film taken by members of Cardiff Branch
Amateur film 1935 13 mins Silent Location: Brecon/Aberhonddu
Weston-Super-Mare’s pier promises ‘Happiness’, ‘Mirth’ and ‘Enjoyment’ and is the destination of a trip undertaken by members of the Cardiff Deaf Club, who use sign language.
In Search of Tudor England In Search of Tudor England
Amateur film 1935 10 mins Silent Location: Llandrindod Wells/Llandrindod
The film-maker, in search of the peace and charm he believes belonged to life in Tudor times, seeks out places “untouched by modern times” in Radnorshire and Herefordshire.
Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 51 mins
Actor and writer Joanna Scanlan talks to Mia Bays, director of the BFI's Filmmaking Fund, about her career in film and television.
Baldwin's N***** Baldwin's N*****
Documentary 1969 44 mins
Horace Ové's striking portrait of the American writer James Baldwin at his sharp-witted best addressing a group of radical West Indian students in 1960s London.
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.