Men of iron

WHAT began as a six-week project more than a decade ago to make a short historical video, has turned into a major project for local film-maker Craig Hornby.

Now A Century In Stone, which tells the little-known story of how Teesside became the iron-mining capital of the world, is being shown at the Arc in Stockton after sell-out shows in workingmen's clubs and community venues across the North-East.

Eventually, Hornby hopes to sell the two-hour documentary - which uses rare archive film, virtual reality, historical reconstructions and interviews with Eston miners - to television. He'd like to see more films made and shown on a cable TV channel devoted exclusively to regional offerings.

He was able to pursue his dream to tell the story of the Eston miners who dug the world's biggest ironstone mine after becoming the North-East's first winner of a grant from Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the Lord Puttnam-backed organisation set up to encourage aspiring artists.

After winning the grant in 2002, he spent two years bringing the Eston mining story to the screen. The idea goes back to the late 1980s when he made a 30-minute video film as an art student at Cleveland College of Art and Design, Middlesbrough. He spent a year raising the £1,000 needed for the film, made with camcorders which had just been introduced at the college.

"I sold 100 copies and local people loved it, but I was never happy with it," says Hornby.

Over the next decade, he worked in London and New York, making films and educational videos. He got a job in the Bronx, in a school in Harlem. He was a bicycle courier in downtown Toronto, and ended up in Canada, working for film companies.

He'd left this country because "I was cheesed off with Britain - it was impossible to get on unless you went to London and I really despised that". The turning point was having to return in 1999 to process emigration papers that would enable him to settle in Canada.

"That took a long time and I remember thinking how much more I could bring to the story of Eston ironstone," he says. "People had got in touch with me with photographs and bits of film. The idea was to tell the story of what put Cleveland on the map as the biggest iron-producing area in the world.

"There was nothing to show the workers, and working class history had never been documented. I wanted to show people where they came from and inspire their awareness of belonging with regards to their descendants."

He felt this was important as Cleveland had been "carved up" over the years by various political factions attempting to take away its identity. The Cleveland iron ore field was a symbol to remind local people of their roots.

As the emigration process dragged on, Hornby became more and more convinced that he should remake his original film. He became determined to raise a budget that would enable him to employ actors in reconstructions and make use of the latest computer animated graphics.

Local councils and arts bodies contributed funds. Then he was nominated for a Nesta grant, but was not hopeful. "It seemed a bit out of my league," he admits. "I didn't imagine they would support something from the North-East but I thought, 'I have to go for this'. It was a once in a lifetime chance which, if I got it, meant I could achieve my dream."

He applied for £69,000 and was actually awarded £75,000. The money came just in time. "I was on the verge of bankruptcy. I'd been surviving doing freelance work, selling prints of Eston mine because I paint as well as make films," he says.

"I couldn't work on the film because I had no money. With the grant I was able to embark on some really elaborate parts that I was toying with but couldn't afford. I was able to put this film together exactly how it was in my mind without any artistic compromises."

He was able to feature the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge, both built with iron from Teesside, which also provided iron for the railways.

The grant enabled him to equip a studio, which he can use to launch other projects.

A Century Of Stone follows Eston's mining history from ironstone first being discovered in 1850 to the pit closing in 1949. It's the biggest independent film ever produced on Teesside.

The completed film has been on "a grass roots cinema tour" with screenings in village halls and workingmen's clubs. When those shows sold out, bigger venues and theatres were booked.

He's shown it in schools and taken pupils on trips to the mine sites. "It's great to see these kids learn about the ironstone industry, because we didn't," he says.

After the Arc screening, he's hoping local multiplex cinemas will show the documentary. He's also looking for sponsors to take the documentary abroad, to screen in Australia.

He's planning to stay in Teesside, and has plenty of ideas for further films exploring the regions and the issues affecting it. A regular platform for screenings by local film-makers is part of the dream. "Teesside is one of the most densely cabled areas in the country. You could put a tape in the machine and it would be available to everybody through a local TV channel - something low budget and 100 per cent run by local people," he says.

* A Century In Stone is showing at the Arc cinema in Dovecot Street, Stockton, on Monday and Tuesday at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. Craig Hornby will introduce the 8pm screening, with a Q&A session afterwards.

Published: 05/06/2004