The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Billingham Scene
A green and pleasant land is never far away from the huge chemical works at Billingham.
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Overview
The vast industrial ICI Billingham site nestles in a Tees river valley of elemental beauty. Stockton, Yarm, Norton and Croft are praised as near-by towns and villages of considerable history, convenience and charm ideal locations as homes for ICI workers. A romanticised pre-urban Teesside is evoked in this 1950s ICI public relations exercise, accompanied by a series of descriptive voiceovers, which end in poetic style: The voice of industry is a million miles away
The ICI Billingham Film Unit made a number of films in the pictorial tradition that emphasise the pastoral beauty of the neighbouring Teesdale and Cleveland landscape a remarkable contrast to the sprawling industrial chemical complex, first founded by Alfred Mond in 1929.
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