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

Where the Land Sounds
0%

Where the Land Sounds(es)

2021-04-21

Motivated by family memories, a filmmaker returns to the land of his mother to reflect on his identity and deep cultural heritage.

I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured: Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope
0%

I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured: Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope(en)

2009-02-09

In the wake of one of the worst social experiments in the history of mankind, 'I'm not Black, I'm Coloured' is one of the first documentary films to look at the legacy of Apartheid from the viewpoint of the Cape Coloured. A people who in 1994, embraced the concept of Desmond Tutu's all encompassing 'rainbow nation', but soon thereafter realized that freedom, privilege, economic growth and equality would not include them. A people who for more than 350 years has been disregarded, ignored, belittled, and stripped of anything they can call their own enduring a complex psychological oppression and identity crisis unparalleled in South African history.

I'm Khoisan, not Coloured
0%

I'm Khoisan, not Coloured(en)

2021-10-14

During his stay in Cape Town as a film student, Shatho Tibone was inspired by an initial casual trip he took to the scenic but informal settlement of Hangberg. This film focuses on the uncertainties and inhumane acts of police and state brutality faced by the predominantly Rastafarian, KhoiSan identifying community of Hangberg in Cape Town, South Africa. So, through the participatory collective effort of a few journalists, filmmaker and community leaders Shatho went on a 5 year journey to document the story of this community which has become an enigma in South African imagination,

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.

These were the reasons
0%

These were the reasons(en)

2011-05-01

This film takes us into the harsh realm of BC's early coal mines, canneries, and lumber camps; where primitve conditions and speed-ups often cost lives. Then, the film moves through the unemployed' struggles of the '30s, post WWII equity campaigns, and into more recent public sector strikes over union rights.

The Miners' Strike and Me
0%

The Miners' Strike and Me(en)

2014-03-12

Documentary marking the 30th anniversary of the 1984 miners' strike, one of the bitterest industrial disputes in British history, with stories from both sides of the conflict.

La Catastrophe de Liévin
0%

La Catastrophe de Liévin(fr)

2025-01-16

Oldemors reise
0%

Oldemors reise(no)

2025-01-28

Mine Your Own Business
0%

Mine Your Own Business(en)

2006-10-16

Mine Your Own Business is a 2006 documentary film directed and produced by Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney about the Roșia Montană mining project. The film asserts that environmentalists' opposition to the mine is unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals, prevents industrial progress, and consequently locks the people of the area into lives of poverty. The film claims that the majority of the people of the village support the mine, and the investment in their hometown. The film presents foreign environmentalists as alien agents opposed to progress, while residents are depicted as eagerly awaiting the new opportunity.

Thatcher vs The Miners: The Battle for Britain
0%

Thatcher vs The Miners: The Battle for Britain(en)

2021-05-31

On the 5th of March 1985, a crowd gathered in a South Yorkshire pit village to watch a sight none of them had seen in a year. The villagers, many of them in tears, cheered and clapped as the men of Grimethorpe Colliery marched back to work accompanied by the village’s world-famous brass band. The miners and their families had endured months of hardship. It had all been for nothing. The miners had lost the strike called on March 6th 1984. They would lose a lot more in the years to come. But was it a good thing for the country that the miners lost their last battle?

Bitva pod zemí
0%

Bitva pod zemí(cs)

1949-01-01

Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage
0%

Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage(en)

2015-01-01

One of the most important Kentuckians of the 20th century, Harry Caudill brought the story of Appalachia to national attention when his book “Night Comes to the Cumberlands” was released in 1963. The nonfiction account of Eastern Kentucky’s coal region, part history and part polemic, eloquently recounted the exploitation of Appalachia’s land and its people by business and government interests, and made Caudill a national spokesperson for his homeland. Harry Caudill spent his life advocating for Eastern Kentucky, with the aim of helping the powerless as well as securing the region’s unmatched natural resources for future generations. His work led to lasting government reforms for Appalachia, and his legacy remains a touchstone for activists today.

Leaning on the tree
0%

Leaning on the tree(xx)

2025-01-29

An apocalyptic sound of roaring machines incessantly intrudes into the habitats of man and nature. Barren landscapes and deserted villages linger in hypnotic restlessness. A self-destructive system meets resistance.

Broken Rainbow
57%

Broken Rainbow(en)

1985-05-05

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

Justice in the Coalfields
0%

Justice in the Coalfields(en)

1995-01-01

This film demonstrates how labor law has crippled the collective bargaining power of unions and weighed the scales of justice against working people. The documentary follows the 1988 United Mine Workers strike against the Pittston Coal Company that followed the expiration of their contract and Pittston's termination of the medical benefits of 1,500 pensioners, widows, and disabled miners.

Profils paysans : l'approche
75%

Profils paysans : l'approche(fr)

2001-05-09

The first of a documentary serie about rural France.

Mining Review 2nd Year No. 4
0%

Mining Review 2nd Year No. 4(en)

1948-09-01

The majestic rebirth of Manchester's Bradford Colliery and other stories.

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.

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.