The Lead Brigade

The Heart of the Earth

March 2007 •Spanish

Tensions mount in an Andalusia mining town between local Spanish workers and their British employers.

Draegerman Courage

May 1937 •English

After a mine cave in, the rescue crew risks their lives to search for two trapped miners.

Khadak

August 2006 •Mongolian

Set in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, a young nomad is confronted with his destiny after animals fall victim to a plague which threatens to eradicate nomadism.

North Country

February 2005 •English

A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States — Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.

Act of Vengeance

September 1986 •English

In 1969, an administrator runs against the corrupt president of the United Coal Miners Union, and becomes the target of a murder plot.

Opal Dream

July 2006 •English

Pobby & Dingan are invisible. They live in an opal town in Australia and are friends with Kellyanne, the 9 year-old daughter of an opal miner. The film tells the story of the bizarre and inexplicable disappearance of Pobby & Dingan, Kellyanne's imaginary friends, and the impact this has on her family and the whole town. The story is told through the eyes of Kellyanne's 11 years old brother Ashmol.

The Spoilers

June 1942 •English

When honest ship captain Roy Glennister gets swindled out of his mine claim, he turns to saloon singer Cherry Malotte for assistance in his battle with no-good town kingpin Alexander McNamara.

The Stars Look Down

January 1940 •English

Davey Fenwick leaves his mining village on a university scholarship intent on returning to better support the miners against the owners. But he falls in love with Jenny who gets him to marry her and return home as local schoolteacher before finishing his degree.

On the Mountain of Konjuh

January 1966 •

An exciting story of Husine coalminers who formed a partisan batch and put up an armed resistance during WW2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Absent

August 1928 •English

A shell-shocked black soldier is cared for by a miner and his daughter when he wanders into their camp, and makes a fresh start in life with the aid of the American Legion.

Blind Shaft

February 2003 •Chinese

Two Chinese miners, who make money by killing fellow miners and then extorting money from the mine owner to keep quiet about the "accident", happen upon their latest victim. But one of them begins to have second thoughts.

On the Road to Katanga

May 1987 •

Obsessed by the dreams of a comfortable life, son of a coal miner comes back to his native country with plans to sell his father's house in order to travel to the African diamond mine in Katanga. Re-visiting of his hometown brings back his childhood trauma, and the nightmare of the old and new love, the events in and around the mine, all put his obsession with Katanga on test.

Bugambilia

November 1945 •Spanish

In mid-nineteenth century Guanajuato, the beauty and charm of the young heiress Amalia conquers the lowly foreman Ricardo with fatal results. Prevented from consummating their love, Ricardo is going to Guanajuato where again later become the rich owner of a mine. On his return, fate has prepared a tragic encounter with Amalia.

A Thousand

September 2015 •Bosnian

A young man by the name of Atif Kurtovic goes into a mine for the first time in his life to become a miner and to continue exactly where his now retired grandfather had left off. However, his fate is soon completely changed when he is picked as the face for the most valuable banknote in the country, the bill in the amount of one thousand dinars. Because of this, Atif soon finds himself on his way to Belgrade where Tito's personal photographer takes his picture and thus allows Atif to become a part of history. Into this story enters a young girl whose nickname, "Hiljadarka / A Thousand", is no accident and with whom Atif falls in love. When Tito announces his personal visit to Atif's hometown, there begins an adventure that they will all remember for the rest of their lives.

The Corn Is Green

January 1979 •English

A strong-willed teacher, determined to educate the poor and illiterate youth of an impoverished Welsh village, discovers one student whom she believes to have the seeds of genius in him.

Laura

November 2010 •Polish

“Laura” is based on a true story about a dramatic search and rescue mission at Halemba coal mine that gripped Poland in February of 2006. A miner was trapped underground, and by the fourth day when everyone was beginning to lose hope of his safe return, the rescue team heard a faint knocking on the pipeline. After a nearly a week long search, the miner was rescued. Those who followed the story closely called it a miracle. But the miner claimed that what saved him was stronger than a miracle – his love for his daughter Laura, and his wife Marlena.

Girl in the Window

April 1961 •Italian

A romantic drama partially set in Amsterdam, this standard tale starts out in a mining area in Holland where conditions are about as rough as they get. Two of the miners, Italians Federico and Vincenzo take off together for the city's red-light district, where the women pose in windows for prospective customers. There the duo meet Else and Carrel who are willing to leave their windows to spend a weekend at a resort with the two men. Soon Else has fallen in love with Vincenzo and the future of the two hookers, as well as the miners, seems to look brighter.

A Night in September

September 1939 •Russian

Film deals with Stakhanovite movement. Old miners try to sabotage young man's plan to renew methods of getting coal.

Lupeni 29

February 1963 •Romanian

The World Cup: A Captain's Tale

June 1982 •English

The true story of the First world football competition, won by a team comprised of miners from Durham.