As part of Industrial Epic: Working Landscapes from the AmberSide Collection, Refractive Scotland presents two films from the Amber archive exploring industrial work, the communities built around it and the consequences of its disappearance.

Made twenty years apart, Last Shift (1976) and The Scar (1997) approach industrial decline from different perspectives. One documents the skills and working practices of men facing redundancy, while the other examines the lasting social and political consequences of pit closures in East Durham. Together, they consider what is lost when an industry closes, from livelihoods and collective knowledge to the relationships and identities shaped by work.

About the films:

Last Shift, 1976

Filmed at a small brickworks in Swalwell following its closure in 1975, Last Shift records the traditional methods used by men producing handmade refractory bricks. Amber employed the redundant workers for a further week to document their skills and working practices before they disappeared. The resulting film is both a record of a disappearing craft and an account of the human cost of industrial closure.

The Scar, 1997

The first film in Amber's Coalfield Trilogy, The Scar follows May Murton, a former activist in the women's support movement during the 1984–85 Miners' Strike, as she navigates family breakdown and the closure of East Durham's collieries. Blending drama with the experiences of local people, including women involved in the strike, the film explores the divisions left by industrial defeat and the difficult choices facing a community whose economic foundations have been dismantled.

About Refractive

Refractive Collective is an independent, artist-led collective of filmmakers and digital artists based in Paisley, Scotland.

It supports and presents artists working with film and digital technology across Renfrewshire and the surrounding area, from young people starting out to established freelancers and internationally recognised practitioners. Refractive creates opportunities for artists to experiment, present work in different contexts and connect with wider audiences.

The collective works to strengthen film and digital arts in the west of Scotland, making visible the range of creative practice being produced there and exploring how contemporary art can contribute to a fairer society.