This film is part of Free
Today We Live
A key social issues film documentary from the British Documentary Movement, this two-part film follows the establishment of social enterprises in England and Wales.
Overview
A key example of the social issues filmmaking of the Britain’s famous 1930s Documentary Movement, consisting of two neatly intertwined stories, ‘starring’ non-actors and based on their real life experience of establishing two social enterprises. Ruby Grierson directs the first, which follows a women’s group’s conversion of a barn into a community centre in South Cerney, Gloucestershire. The second, by Ralph Bond, observes unemployed coalminers as they build an occupational centre in Pentre, in the Rhondda Valley.
The film was produced by Paul Rotha, one of the the movement’s most important figures. Although funded by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), the film adeptly resists sentimentality or triumphalism, and is notable for its sympathetic depiction of the two communities. The shots in the Rhondda sequence of men on a windswept slagheap have been re-used countless times in later films and programmes as one of the iconic images of the Great Depression. Today We Live is also available on the BFI DVD collection Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950.
Related
Around the Village Green Around the Village Green
Travelogue 1937 12 mins Location: Finchingfield
Rural life in the Essex villages of Finchingfield and Great Bardfield - and the mixed reactions of older residents to changing times.
One Foot in Eden One Foot in Eden
Documentary 1978 49 mins Location: Orkney Islands
Orkney evoked through poetry, the sounds of nature, and the music of Peter Maxwell Davies.
A Day in the Hayfields A Day in the Hayfields
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Walton-on-Thames
Midsummer haymaking larks
West of England West of England
Industry sponsored film 1951 10 mins Location: Stroud
The Stroud valleys of Gloucestershire in glorious Technicolor - and with a Laurie Lee script.
Showtime Showtime
Documentary 1984 23 mins Location: Newark-on-Trent
From shire horses to the Royal Marines, welcome to the annual Newark Show. A serious business for the farming community, with prizes to win and 800 gallons of beer to be drunk.
Springtime in an English Village Springtime in an English Village
Documentary 1944 7 mins Location: Stanion
An extraordinary and unexpected snapshot of rural life in wartime in which a young black girl is crowned Queen of the May.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Luke Bean of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Samantha Arnold of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.
Horace Ové on Pressure Horace Ové on Pressure
Inside Film 2005 36 mins
The acclaimed director discusses his landmark film in this interview from 2005.
Baltimore - Exclusive Q&A Baltimore - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 28 mins
Directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor dig deep into their thrilling biopic Baltimore, in discussion with Nadia M Oliva.
Pressure star Herbert Norville on Horace Ové's masterpiece, the first full-length Black British film Pressure star Herbert Norville on Horace Ové's masterpiece, the first full-length Black British film
Inside Film 2023 17 mins
Actor Herbert Norville discusses working with the pioneering filmmaker on his groundbreaking 1975 drama, Pressure.
Horace Ové: Reflecting the People – A Career Retrospective Horace Ové: Reflecting the People – A Career Retrospective
Inside Film 2023 77 mins
An impassioned discussion on the life, work and legacy of the eminent filmmaker Horace Ové, chaired by Samira Ahmed.