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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Kielder Water 1968 - 1982
Water speaks volumes in this promotional film for a grand engineering scheme in the wilds of Northumberland.
From the collection of:
Overview
‘The drowning of a valley is still an event to fire the imagination’ declares this triumphant promotional film for Northumbrian Water that commemorates a grand engineering project, the Kielder Water reservoir and dam. The valley folk wistfully remember their lost way of life and landscape. But the film celebrates ‘a new beauty for the 20th century’ after the construction of the reservoir, opened by Queen Elizabeth on 26 May 1982.
This sponsored film was made by Turners of Newcastle, which enjoyed a significant presence in post-war publicity film and video production for North East based industries and businesses. Turners started life as a chemist shop down Pink Lane, selling cameras on the side from 1932. It became one of the North East’s leading photographic and cine retail firms, its first film production commissioned by Bartram & Sons South Dock shipyard of Sunderland in 1947. Over the next 50 years, until their closure in 1999, Turners produced some 2,000 films and videos.
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