From regional news programmes and local businesses advertising their wares, to families documenting important milestones, The North East Film Archive holds footage from every decade over the past century.

[quote= Sue Howard, Director of the North East Film Archive] “We are hugely grateful to HLF for their support – and of course to every National Lottery player, as they really are the people that make it all possible.” [/quote]

Now, a £323,700 National Lottery grant will preserve and digitise hundreds of thousands of feet of film and make them fully accessible for the first time. Take a look at our YouTube channel for a sneak preview.

Coast to city, schools to streets

Ivor Crowther, Head of HLF North East, said: “The North East Film Archive is a fascinating and often moving insight into life in the region. Not just the great events, but the everyday lives of the people who make it so great. Stories from coast, country, town and city, from our shops, schools and streets, the huge industries that shaped our working lives and the village fetes and carnivals we enjoyed.”

Films will be taken on tour to communities across the region, with the aim of igniting a real personal connection to the archive.

Sue Howard, Director of the North East Film Archive, explains: “For the archive, our first job is about ensuring these astonishing visual records of our communities are preserved and digitised, but where the work really comes alive is when we take the films back to the communities in which they were made – it is the people there who then become the real experts, they have all the local knowledge, the memories and the stories to share, so it is a real two way process.”

Thank you National Lottery players

Sue added: “We are hugely grateful to HLF for their support – and of course to every National Lottery player, as they really are the people that make it all possible.”

Heritage Minister John Glen said: "Thanks to National Lottery players this unique archive is being protected and screened to more people so that the stories from the North East's past are not forgotten."

Get involved

If your community would like to take part in a screening, or if you have footage to share, take a look at the North East on Film website and find out how you can get involved.