Newcastle film cannot be discussed without talking about Ken Loach, from I, Daniel Blake to Sorry We Missed You and his most recent The Old Oak, Ken Loach has a monopoly on North East film. Loach’s final addition to his film trilogy, The Old Oak, is particularly poignant in our current political climate as it follows the friendship between pub owner TJ and Syrian refugee Yara amongst political unrest in a former mining town after Syrian refugees are placed there. Emotional and heartfelt, Loach’s swansong is a powerful testament against the rise of conservative and Reform in the North East. He shines a light on the similarities of each group’s situation and shows that friendship succeeds over differences.
The film also features the Durham Miner’s Gala in which the group flies a banner which was made by Aidan Doyle of Great North Banner Makers and was designed in collaboration with Syrian refugees. This scene is significant as it highlights the importance of banners to working-class culture as they represent specific groups and messages.
Of course, Billy Elliot must also be mentioned as it is definitively the film that put the North East on the map. Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age drama set in the midst of the Miner’s Strike in County Durham. The typical North East grit is present in the setting and the dichotomy of Billy’s ballet lessons and his father and brother’s picketing. The Miner’s strike defines the North East and is likely the origin of ‘Northern grit’ as the strike has had lasting impacts on the people and communities of the area.
Northern grit and joy are married in this pinnacle of cinema.
However, director Stephen Daldry shows the little joys of being a child in the North East, dancing in the back streets, dressing up and friendship. Northern grit and joy are married in this pinnacle of cinema. There are present prejudices against perceived homosexuality and alternative masculinity in the film which was characteristic of the North East for that time, however, these beliefs are overcome by love and understanding which transforms the film from a typical ‘Northern grit’.
Northern Grit as a recurrent film persona is stereotyped and assumed by those unfamiliar with the North, however, these standout films allow for the true heart of the North to shine through despite its struggles.