A PARTNERSHIP project between the North East Film Archive and Teesside University will see the region’s social history examined on film.

Dr Ben Lamb has partnered with the North East Film Archive to launch Rewinding the Welfare State, a touring programme of screenings which form part of the Archive’s North East on Film project which aims to connect the region’s communities with their heritage through film.

The Rewinding the Welfare State programme features local news reports and television documentaries, trade union campaigns and community-made films.

These will be screened at venues across the region between September and December.

The aim of the project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Teesside University, is to show the impact of the welfare state from the 1920s to the present day.

Dr Lamb, from the university’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law, said: “Many of these films haven’t been seen since they were first made and are part of the extensive collections at North East Film Archive.

“By reliving the courageous character of North-East communities, the audience will experience how grassroots initiatives designed to challenge national inequality have improved the wellbeing of many people.”

As part of the screenings, the audience will be invited to share their thoughts as the journey “from cradle to grave” is explored, to look at how access to healthcare, housing, education, social security and pensions has changed over the years.

The narrative to accompany the films will be adapted depending on the location, to reference events of particular importance for that area.

Dr Lamb said: “We will look at life before the welfare state, turning the clock back to the Jarrow Crusade and its legacy and people who took part in the original march.

“Memories will be shared of bringing up children in the 1940s and the experiences of having children in the post-war period.

“The educational opportunities and training available to young people will be explored, along with developments in housing, from slum clearance and life on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ to high rise living.”

Other areas highlighted include industrial development, welfare benefits and the prejudice experienced by people “on the dole”.

Julie Ballands, delivery manager of the Archive’s North East on Film project, said: “Teaming up with Ben is an incredible opportunity for us to dig deeper into the material we preserve in the archive’s vaults and to present these films in a new and exciting way.

“The films tell the story of the North-East over the last 120 years and it will be brilliant to explore this history with our audiences.”

Dr Lamb’s research looks at the representations of marginalised communities within the media, wider culture, and the arts, with the aim of helping to improve social integration policy.

Teesside University is among the region’s venues for screenings, where films will be shown on Sunday, October 13.