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Amber More4 Season

20th November 2008 By: Graeme Rigby

More4 is broadcasting a season of films made with North East England's horsey community. Titled The Amber Collective: A Lost World on Film it kicks off, on Sat 6 Dec at 10.35pm, with our brand new...more »

Step by Step back online

21st February 2008 By: Graeme Rigby

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's great exhibition Step by Step is back on the website. We took this 1980s documentation of a North Shields dance school offline, when we found that ...more »

Martin Stephenson Gig at Side Café

10th December 2007 By: Graeme Rigby

It's always a joy catching a Martin Stephenson gig, but an acoustic set in the intimacy of Side Café's upstairs lounge is going to be a rare treat. Clear away the excesses of Christmas, prepare...more »

More4 Amber Season: The DVDs

DVDS NOW AVAILABLE

From the recent More4 season broadcast December 08

Murray Martin and Bolex camera, 1970s
We are producing DVDs of all the films in the recent More4 season of Amber films, broadcast to celebrate the group's 40th anniversary and the unique contribution to British film of Murray Martin, who died last year. Seacoal and Shooting Magpies were already available and The Pursuit of Happiness has now been released. Eden Valley should be available in mid January. All are/will be available from the Online Shop or from Side Gallery.

The season kicked off with The Pursuit of Happiness (2008) on Saturday 6 December. It started out as a film about the Coulsons, a horsey/harness racing family in Craghead, County Durham. When Murray died it became an exploration of a filmmaker who became part of the community he documented; a film about how to be in this world.

Murray's love of horsey culture grew out of Amber's filmmaking and led into Amber films. The three feature films that connect with this world followed: a television premiere for Shooting Magpies (2005) on Tuesday 9 December; Eden Valley (1995) on Wednesday 10 December; and Seacoal (1985) on Friday 12 December.