The One That Got Away
Amber Films
Photographic
Unfinished Projects
An unfinished 1980s animated film project by Amber, based on a story by Tom Hadaway, with artwork by Angus McKie and connections to the collective’s wider body of work.
Amberside Collection
The AmberSide Collection is a vast body of documentary photography and film dedicated to preserving the working-class experience. Featuring over 20,000 photographs and 100 films, it captures social and industrial life in the North East of England and beyond, with contributions from both local and internationally renowned photographers and filmmakers.
Founded in 1968 by Murray Martin, the Amber Film & Photography Collective set out to create a lasting record of working-class culture. The collection includes works documenting key aspects of everyday life, social struggles, and industrial change. It also features historic projects such as The Building of the Tyne Bridge and the photography of Jimmy Forsyth.
Side’s values are rooted in a concern for working-class, marginalised, or threatened lives and landscapes, both in the UK and abroad. Housed at Side and safeguarded by the AmberSide Trust, the collection remains a vital cultural resource, ensuring that the social history of the North East and wider working-class communities is preserved for future generations.
The Privatisation Tapes (1986)
Amber Current Affairs Unit
Film and Video
As the Conservative government unrolled its programme of privatisation the tapes looked at the prospects for local authority and hospital workers.
The Pursuit of Happiness (2008)
Amber Films
Film and Video
A feature length portrait of a traveller family in County Durham, intertwined with a reflection on Amber founder Murray Martin, and the bonds between filmmaker and subject.
The Russians
Dana Kyndrová
Photographic
A decade-long project by Dana Kyndrová tracing Russian life before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, reflecting on power, identity and the shifting place of Russia in post-socialist Europe.
The Scar (1997)
Amber Films
Film and Video
The first film in Amber's Coalfield Trilogy, exploring women's lives in the aftermath of the last colliery closures in East Durham.
The Unrecognised Villages
Peter Fryer
Photographic
1990s documentation of the unrecognised Palestinian Arab villages of Kamaneh, Arab Naim and Ein Hod - exploring the lived consequences of restriction and exclusion within the state of Israel.
The Writing in the Sand (1991)
Amber Films
Film and Video
An evocation of beach life in the North East of England, constructed from Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's black & white photographs spanning from the 1970s - early 1990s.
Today I'm With You (2010)
Amber Films
Film and Video
A documentary film arising out of Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's Byker Revisited portraits, exploring the new and changing communities in Newcastle's Byker Wall Estate.
Unclear Family (Solo Show)
Richard Grassick
Photographic
Photographs by Richard Grassick exploring lived experiences of family across England, the Czech Republic, France and Germany during the 1990s, developed through the Unclear Family international workshop.
Unclear Family: Crook 1993
Dayanita Singh | Jindřich Štreit | Michelle Johnson | Mik Critchlow | Miriam Reik | Peter Bialobrzeski | Richard Cross | Richard Grassick | Stefan Dolfen | Steve Conlan | Tim Curtis
Photographic
A multifaceted portrait of family life in early 1990s South West Durham, developed through documentary responses to place, identity and community - created through an international documentary workshop.
Visual Culture
Slide sets of original photography & copied imagery, an extraordinary library originally developed in the 1970s & 80s for higher education: a rich and surprising celebration of C19th & C20th iconography.
Licensing & Usage Requests
Photographic exhibitions, videos, clips, trailers and each month's featured film are free. For personal use Amber's feature dramas, feature documentaries and film shorts are available as pay per view. See details of our Educational Screening Licence or contact us.