Film to take Pride of place at festival

THE remarkable story from the 1984 Miners’ Strike, telling how a group of gay and lesbian activists supported striking miners in the Neath, Dulais and Upper Swansea valleys, is to take pride of place at the start of a long-running film festival, it has been announced today.

The 2014 film Pride, which tells the real-life tale of how a group of gay activists in London decided to fundraise for a South Wales mining community, is one of a number of open-air screenings in this year’s Purbeck Film Festival in Dorset.

Films will be shown at venues including the National Trust’s Corfe Castle and Durlston Country Park, from the end of May.

The full festival, which has been running for more than a quarter of a century, is from October 14-29, with more than 70 films at over 30 venues across Purbeck.

In Pride, former Swansea East Labour MP Sian James is depicted by actress Jessica Gunning as being one of the most passionate supporters of the lesbian and gay activists group’s efforts.

Ms James, who was a housewife married to a miner in the Swansea Valley when the strike began, started by volunteering to help other mining families, eventually helping feed 1,000 families a week across the Valleys.

She said: “The Pride movie told the story of a very special relationship. One between two unlikely groups, the first a group of young gay and lesbian activists from London and the other, ordinary working-class people from the mining communities of the Neath, Dulais and Upper Swansea valleys.

“It celebrates the unique connection that has been forged between those two communities. We were fighting to maintain our mines, our jobs and our future, they were fighting for fairness and equality.”

Andrea Etherington, chair of the Purbeck Film Festival, said: “We are delighted with the range of films being shown this year, offering a real treat to anyone wanting to watch great cinema.”