Steel on Film 2026 Roadshow

UK Roadshow Screening Programme Autumn 2026

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Tagline:
A journey through 50 years of Britain’s steel communities.

Programme Synopsis:

This autumn, documentary filmmaker Joe Cornick will take his powerful debut feature Steel: The Blood of Us 2026 on a UK screening roadshow, alongside Hignett’s intimate 1976 documentary The Face of Change. Made exactly 50 years apart, the two films offer contrasting perspectives on Britain’s steel industry and the communities shaped by it. Cornick’s film, shot on 16mm celluloid and completed this year, documents the final years of traditional steelmaking in Port Talbot, Wales. The two films will screen together across the UK through the Steel on Film Roadshow, beginning at the Reel Cinema in Port Talbot, with Cornick and Hignett appearing together at select screenings for a Q&A.

Each screening is accompanied by a filmmaker Q&A and community discussion, encouraging audiences to share their own experiences of the industries that have shaped their towns and cities.

STEEL THE BLOOD OF US - TRAILER (FOR PRESS USE)

Total Run Time: approximately 75 minutes

Steel: The Blood of Us (2026) - 47 Minutes
The Face of Change (1976) - 27 Minutes
Followed by a filmmaker Q&A

Steel: The Blood of Us (2026)
Director, Producer and Cinematographer Joe Cornick

Steel: The Blood of Us is a cinematic love letter to the end of the industrial revolution, capturing the community of Port Talbot during the final years of traditional steelmaking before the closure of its blast furnaces.

Shot over four years on 16mm film, the documentary weaves together the voices of generations through a poetic cine-essay style, celebrating the resilience, identity and enduring spirit of a community standing at the end of more than a century of traditional steelmaking.

Moving beyond headlines and politics, the film offers an intimate portrait of people whose lives have been shaped by heavy industry and asks what remains when that industry disappears.

Year: 2026
Runtime: 47 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Format: 16mm origination | 4K DCP | 35mm exhibition print available
Credits:
Director, Producer, Cinematographer & Editor: Joe Cornick
Co-Producer: Siân Adler
Executive Producers: David Evans, Craig McCall
Original Score: Benjamin Doherty
Colourist: Finlay Reid

The Face of Change (1976)
Directors Malcolm Hignett & David Williams

Produced by British Steel during a period of major industrial restructuring, TheFace of Change documents the challenges facing Britain's steel communities as recession, redundancy and modernisation reshape the industry.

Filmed principally in Ebbw Vale, while also reflecting developments across Britain's steelmaking regions including Redcar, Hartlepool and Scunthorpe, the documentary presents a contemporary portrait of an industry confronting uncertainty while attempting to offer hope for the future.

Today, the film stands as a rarely screened extraordinary historical document, capturing the voices and concerns of communities experiencing profound industrial change.

Year: 1976
Runtime: 27 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Credits:
Producer: Cyril Randall
Director: Malcolm Hignett & David Williams

More details about “The Face of Change” here (BFI)

STEEL ON FILM TRAILER (TEMPORARY) - CINEMA PROGRAMMERS USE ONLY