Every Breath They Take
Keith Pattison
Photographic
A photographic record of Hebburn residents’ campaign in the late 1980s against pollution from Monkton cokeworks, capturing community resistance and environmental protest before the plant’s closure.
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.
Farewell Squalor
Sally-Ann Norman
Photographic
A photographic and written portrait of housing across the Durham coalfield - exploring shifting landscapes, planning ideals and post-industrial realities between 2001 and 2003.
Fishing Industry
Nick Hedges
Photographic
A documentation of the North Shields fishing industry, developed in 1979, as Amber Films was working on Tom Hadaway's fish quay drama The Filleting Machine.
For Druridge
Isabela Jedrzejczyk | John Davies
Photographic
Early 1980s landscapes of a stretch of the Northumberland coastline threatened by plans to develop a nuclear power station. The plans were dropped after the Sizewell Inquiry.
From Marks & Spencer to Marx and Engels (1988)
Amber Films
Film and Video
Documentary capturing the daily life in Rostock, East Germany, exploring work, community, and the realities of socialism through the experiences of its residents and Amber Film.
From Us to Me (2016)
Amber Films
Film and Video
A feature-length documentary about the East German city of Rostock, reflecting on the profound changes experienced by its residents since the collapse of the German Democratic Republic.
Gaza Strip
Chris Steele-Perkins
Photographic
An observational portrait of daily life under occupation in Gaza during the First Intifada, photographed by Chris Steele-Perkins in 1987 and 1988.
Give my Regards to Elizabeth
Peter Bialobrzeski
Photographic
A German photographer’s portrait of early 1990s England, capturing social contrasts shaped by Margaret Thatcher’s legacy.
Glassworks (1977)
Amber Films
Film and Video
A documentary film about a Tyneside factory which specialised in handmade industrial glass, from making fine capillary tubes to large carboy containers.
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.