Movie: Deep Roots, Dark Earth: Freemining in the Forest of Dean

Top 4 Billed Cast

Dan Howell
Dan Howell

Himself

Mike Howell
Mike Howell

Himself

Phil Schwarz
Phil Schwarz

Himself

Lawrence Shaw
Lawrence Shaw

Himself

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    For centuries, freeminers have held the right to mine coal anywhere within the Forest of Dean. To become a freeminer, one must be over 21, born within the hundred of St Briavels, and have worked underground for a year and a day. Today, Forestry England administers the mining tradition, with only a few freeminers still venturing underground in search of the elusive ‘black gold,’ helping to keep this unique heritage alive. This short documentary offers a rare glimpse into the lives of those most connected to this fascinating practice. Through their eyes, we explore the dark depths beneath the ancient forest floor and uncover an enduring way of life.

  • Release Date

  • Average

    0

  • Rating:

    0.0 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

  • Keywords

Similar Movies

Centralia: Pennsylvania's Lost Town
100%

Centralia: Pennsylvania's Lost Town(en)

2017-05-05

A small town is overcome by a massive underground coal fire in 1962. As a result hundreds of residents had to be relocated.

The Commission
0%

The Commission(lt)

2019-12-01

For some time now, The State Commission of the Lithuanian Language is at the center of tough discussions. For some, it’s an institution which safeguards the most important principles of the language, but for others, it’s an anachronism of the Soviet regime. This film offers a first-time glimpse into the commission’s work

Balmoral
0%

Balmoral(en)

2025-04-23

As historic ships vanish from British waters, a group of passionate volunteers fights to save the Balmoral—a 1949 passenger vessel moored in Bristol’s iconic harbour—battling time, bureaucracy, and financial struggles to preserve a piece of maritime history before it’s lost forever.

Ofelia
0%

Ofelia(es)

2024-06-27

At 88 years old, Ofelia reflects on her life under the attentive gaze of her grandchildren. Family, love, disputes, adventures, and tragedies. A story brimming with characters that, as a result of the passing of time, leaves Ofelia as the sole witness to recount it

Profils paysans : l'approche
75%

Profils paysans : l'approche(fr)

2001-05-09

The first of a documentary serie about rural France.

Broken Rainbow
57%

Broken Rainbow(en)

1985-05-05

Documentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.

That's the Price
0%

That's the Price(en)

1970-01-01

What happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.

Broken Palace
90%

Broken Palace(en)

2014-09-29

A short documentary about the rapidly disappearing era of heritage movie palaces and the film going experience once offered within those hallowed walls.

The Kingdom of Fun
0%

The Kingdom of Fun(en)

1989-01-19

The largest leisure and shopping complex in Europe, the Metro Centre in Tynemouth, and its creator John Hall.

Once We Were Pitmen
80%

Once We Were Pitmen(de)

2023-05-10

Black dust, shrill metallic noises, dark tunnels, muscular bodies – all that is the past. At the end of 2018, extraction of coal throughout Germany came to an end. That same year, the voices of the emerging climate protest movement Fridays for Future grew louder. Against the backdrop of these media and socio-political events, the film follows five miners on their tragic, humorous and heartwarming search for a new role in life.

La Buena Vida - The Good Life
72%

La Buena Vida - The Good Life(de)

2015-01-21

The village of Tamaquito lies deep in the forests of Colombia. Here, nature provides the people with everything they need. But the Wayúu community's way of life is being destroyed by the vast and rapidly growing El Cerrejón coal mine. Determined to save his community from forced resettlement, the leader Jairo Fuentes negotiates with the mine's operators, which soon becomes a fight to survive.

Tinker
75%

Tinker(en)

1949-11-01

Semi-documentary, focusing on the training young boys receive before they are sent down the mines on their first job.

Falconry
0%

Falconry(mn)

2025-10-09

Batbileg lives in a ger district of Ulaanbaatar with his wife and two children, making a living by training falcons for hunting and showing them to tourists. Every year, at the beginning of summer, he captures and trains the hawks, and at the start of winter, he releases them back into the wild. One of his recurring endeavors begins with training a hawk named “Andgai.”(Oath). However, laws and regulations on bird training are lacking, and the densely populated urban environment, crowded with people and buildings, is far from suitable. Batbileg aims to revive Mongolia’s ancient falconry culture, raise public awareness of the value of falcons, and pass on conservation ideals to the younger generation. Yet, in the face of the many challenges before him, he is forced to confront a dilemma: should he comply with the law, or remain faithful to his ancestral tradition?

Coal Face
61%

Coal Face(en)

1935-06-03

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

Sonaggios
0%

Sonaggios(en)

2025-04-27

In the Sardinian town of Tonara, where the ancient art of crafting cowbells teeters on the edge of extinction, a family battles to preserve their heritage, passing down skills to a new generation while grappling with personal struggles and the pull of modernity. English subtitles.

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress
77%

Breakpoint: A Counter History of Progress(fr)

2019-07-14

An account of the last two centuries of the Anthropocene, the Age of Man. How human beings have progressed so much in such a short time through war and the selfish interests of a few, belligerent politicians and captains of industry, damaging the welfare of the majority of mankind, impoverishing the weakest, greedily devouring the limited resources of the Earth.

Pāragate
60%

Pāragate(zh)

2023-11-11

From Belgium, Jialai Wang maintains contact via smartphone and camera with her mother and grandmother in China. When her grandmother’s health deteriorates, Jialai returns to Shanghai, but when she arrives, her grandmother has already died, and she is left alone with her mother. A devout Buddhist, her mother seems to pay more attention to her daily prayers, Maoist past and dog Dongdong than she does to her daughter. She herself had been abandoned as a child by her own mother, when she divorced Jialai’s grandfather and moved to the city.

Bimblebox
0%

Bimblebox(en)

The Bimblebox Nature Refuge lies in the path of what will be the earths largest coal mines. One woman, Paola Cassoni, decides to resist the "China First" project that will destroy her Nature Refuge and supply energy to Asia for the next thirty years. Paola's decision brings the viewer on a tour of Australia's "Quarry Vision". At this critical time, when so much coal and coal seam gas expansion is planned in Australia, this film aims to win the hearts and minds of the people, exposing the destructiveness of this industry to our climate, communities and environment. It tells the stories of the people fighting for their homes and culture. Australia is the worlds largest exporter of coal supplying one third of the worlds supply. It is impossible to address climate change without looking at Australia's role in the planets climate future. http://www.screenzone.tv/products/bimblebox

Which Side Are You On?
65%

Which Side Are You On?(en)

1985-04-08

The documentary features the British miners and their family experiences told through songs, poems, pictures and words.