STEEL ON FILM
UK Roadshow Screening Programme
PRESS & PROGRAMMERS DOWNLOAD LINK
Tagline:
50 years of Steel in the UK
Programme Synopsis:
Steel on Film is a unique documentary programme bringing together two remarkable films made exactly fifty years apart. Pairing Faces of Change (1976) with Steel: The Blood of Us (2026), the programme traces the changing story of Britain's steel communities through two generations of filmmaking.
Beginning in the steelworks of Ebbw Vale during the industry's restructuring of the 1970s and concluding in Port Talbot in the years prior to the closure of its blast furnaces in 2024, the films create a rare cinematic dialogue across five decades of British industrial history.
Together they explore not only the economic realities of steelmaking, but the people, communities and identities shaped by the industry. Steel on Film invites audiences to reflect on Britain's industrial heritage through two distinct documentary voices, revealing how the questions faced almost fifty years ago continue to resonate today.
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.
About the Programme:
The roadshow will tour cinemas, arts venues and community spaces across the UK throughout Autumn 2026, visiting places with strong historical connections to steelmaking and heavy industry.
Designed as both a film event and a conversation, Steel on Film creates a meeting point between documentary cinema, industrial heritage and community memory. By bringing together audiences, filmmakers, historians and former steelworkers, the programme aims to celebrate the legacy of Britain's steel communities while preserving their stories for future generations.
Programme Technical Details:
Run Time: approximately 75 minutes
The Faces of Change (1976) - 27 Minutes
Steel: The Blood of Us (2026) - 47 Minutes
Followed by an optional filmmaker Q&A (30-40 minutes)
Available as an unlocked 4K DCP file, Steel: The Blood of Us is also available from 35mm print.
Both films are 1.33:1 (4:3) aspect ratio
Featured Film:
Faces of Change (1976)
Directed by Robert Malcolm & David Williams
Produced by British Steel during a period of major industrial restructuring, Faces 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 an 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: Robert Malcom & David Williams
More details about “Face of Change” here (BFI)
Steel: The Blood of Us (2026)
Directed by 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
Director's Statement
Four years ago, I stopped in Port Talbot on my way home through Wales and found myself in conversation with a group of retired steelworkers in a local pub overlooking the steelworks. Listening to their stories, I realised there was a side of Port Talbot that wasn't being reflected in the headlines. Behind every discussion about steel production or economic policy were people whose identities, families and communities had been shaped by generations of industrial work.
From that moment, I wanted to make a film that wasn't simply about the closure of a steelworks, but about the people living through the end of an era. Shooting on 16mm film felt essential. The texture, grain and imperfections of celluloid echoed the materiality of steel itself and reflected the themes of memory, labour and time that run throughout the film.
Pairing Steel: The Blood of Us with Faces of Change has allowed the project to become something even larger. Although made almost fifty years apart, the two films speak directly to one another, creating a conversation about Britain's industrial communities that spans generations. Together they remind us that while industries change, the questions surrounding identity, belonging and the future of work remain remarkably familiar.
