This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Revolt of the Fishermen

A rousing tale of Hull fishermen striking for union recognition.

1935 12 mins Silent

Overview

This film covers the story of the fishermen’s strike in Hull over Easter 1935. It was made by the Film and Photograph League, a group of filmmakers who aimed to record events – from a working class perspective - which were rarely covered by the commercial newsreels. The filmmakers employ a style favoured in many left-wing films of the 1930s, inspired by the montage style of Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. There are juxtaposed shots of poverty and wealth with sequences of the fishermen’s “derelict homes” adjoining a shot of a poster for the Ideal Home Show.

There are also many beautifully composed images, but this ambitious film received little attention at the time it was made, unlike the landmark documentary Drifters - also about North Sea fishermen, with no mention of trade unions, made a few years earlier by John Grierson.

Country

United Kingdom

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Watch for free

Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A

Inside Film 2025 30 mins

The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.