Film news for March and April

Posted by on Apr 7, 2014 in News | 0 comments

News from Still the Enemy Within

Thirty years ago, Thatcher went to war. These are the miners who fought back

Hundreds attend strike anniversary event at Rich Mix
Three hundred people attended the event organised by the Still the Enemy Within team, to mark the 30th Anniversary of the start of the strike, atRich Mix in East London.They got the opportunity to meet some of the star contributors to our film, including former Silverwood miner Steve Hammill. He told those gathered, “We’re not here to reminisce—this is about the lessons for today.”
Another key speaker was Joyce Sheppard, former miners wife, who spoke about the changing experience of women during the strike. You can here a short radio interview Joyce did the day before here (32.30′)

The films contributors were joined by Seumas Milne who launched an update of his seminal book ‘The Enemy Within: The secret war against the miners‘ and Paul Masonwho hosted a discussion on the media’s role during the strike.

A highlight of the day was showing our trailer on the big screen, which went down a treat! There was also a showing of the powerful documentary ‘Miners Shot Down’which details the run up to the Marikana massacre in South Africa.  The day ended with a fantastic gig courtesy of Emile Strunz and 52 Commercial Road, as well DJ Sets from Test Dept and Packed Between Strangers.

PCS National Executive votes to back film
We extremely pleased to announce that PCS union has voted to back the film at a national level. This makes it the eighth member of the TUC to support the film alongside the NUT, FBU, CWU, EIS, UCU, UNITE and NUM.  We hope other members of the TUC will follow suit!

In total, we now have the backing of well over a hundred local union branches and regions, in all the major unions, as well as dozens of Trades Councils. If you are in the RMT, UNISON, GMB, NUJ, TSSA or ASLEF, it is time to start thinking about asking your union to join the other eight on the TUC and support the film at a national level. Let’s keep the ball rolling!

Still the Enemy Within team to speak at RTS Wales
We extremely excited to have been invited to an event organised by the Royal Television Society Wales. Full details below:

RTS Wales and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust

present
‘Still the Enemy Within’
Parc and Dare Theatre, Treorchy, Thursday 17 April at 7pm

On the 30th anniversary of the miners’ strike RTS will preview a clip of ‘Still the Enemy Within’, an independent, crowdfunded film which uncovers the hidden story of the people behind the longest national industrial dispute in history. Demonised by the government and dubbed ‘Arthur’s Army’ they lead a fight-back that would change British society forever.

Producer and Director Sinead Kirwan and Owen Gower will talk about how they got access to people who have never before been willing to talk about their experiences on camera. They will also explain how they are still raising money to make the film a reality.

Light refreshments will be available before and after the lecture. If you wish to attend please RSVP:  Hywel Wiliam, RTS Wales Centre Administrator
[email protected]

Still the Enemy Within team coming to an event or conference near you!
Alongside our RTS event, the team will also be speaking at a the following events:

National Union of Teachers Annual Conference: Fringe Meeting
On Saturday 19th April @5.00 PM directly after the main conference

Communication Workers Union Annual Conference : Fringe Meeting
On Sunday 27th April @6.00 PM

If you are attending either conference, we urge you to come along and see us, and to get as many delegates to these meetings as possible. You will be able to see a fantastic updated trailer and brand new clips of the film. This is also a great chance to circulate a copy of our model motion.

London Labour Film Festival
On the 1st May the team will be appearing at the London Labour Film Festival to discuss upcoming plans for the film. The festival highlights cinema that celebrates working people. More details on the festival and how to book tickets can be found on festival website here.

Goodbye to Tony Benn and Bob Crow
The Still the Enemy Within team were very sad to hear about the passing of RMT leader Bob Crow and left-wing politician Tony Benn, earlier this month. Our thoughts go out to both their families and all our supporters in the RMT.

Invest in Bad Bonobo

We have opened up Bad Bonobo to private investment, to help secure the commercial release of ‘Still the Enemy Within’,  later this year. If you are interested in finding out more about investing in Bad Bonobo, please email [email protected]

We are entering an extremely exciting period of the production. We have just finished are rough-cut and are full-steam ahead to finish the film for a premier in June. Big thanks to all our supporters, we couldn’t have done it without you!

All the best from the Bad Bonobo team!
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