The Mine

Where the Green Ants Dream

August 1984 •German

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green ants go to dream, and that if their dreams are disturbed, it will bring down disaster on us all. The Aborigines' belief is not shared by a giant mining company, which wants to tear open the soil and search for uranium.

Wildrose

May 1984 •English

June Lorich works at the Mesabi Mine on Minnesota's iron range. After an emotionally and physically abusive marriage, June is determined to make it on her own. But the worsening steel industry forces major cutbacks and June is bumped down to an all-male pit. She becomes the brunt of the other workers' hostilities and is forced to fight against them -- and the man she loves -- to save her job.

Woman of the North Country

July 1952 •English

In 1890 Minnesota Christine Powell is the scheming head of the Powell dynasty, the richest mining empire of the era. But the Powell mine deposits are diminishing. The Mesabi range represents a whole new productive area but the rights to mine there are held by a young geological engineer, Kyle Ramlo. The latter reaches an impasse when he needs money to continue his experimentation with open-pit mining and goes to Miss Powell for financing. She displays great interest in both his inventive mining method and in him personally but secretly plots to destroy him and take over his Masabi rights. The gullible Ramlo falls into clutches while the girl he really loves, Cathy Norlund, tries desperately to open his eyes to Christine's scheme.

The 33

August 2015 •English

Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.

Strange Colours

November 2018 •English

Milena travels to a remote opal mining community to see her estranged, ill father. Lost and alone, she falls into his bewildering world, where men escape society and share ideals of freedom. Soon, he doesn’t want her to leave. Stuck in time, father and daughter try to mend their fractured bond, but their connection is fragile, like the strange, colourful gems he digs up from the earth.

The Heart of the Earth

March 2007 •Spanish

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

Das Wunder von Lengede

November 2003 •German

The film is based on the events surrounding the Lengede mining accident in 1963.

World of Tomorrow

January 2015 •English

A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.

Blue Scar

April 1949 •English

1940s British realist film about the life and struggles of a family in a Welsh mining town.

Malartic

February 2024 •French

Ten years after an enormous open-pit gold mine began operations in Malartic, the hoped-for economic miracle is nothing more than a mirage. Filmmaker Nicolas Paquet explores the glaring contrast between the town’s decline and the wealth of the mining company, along with the mechanisms of an opaque decision-making system in which ordinary people have little say. Part anthropological study, part investigation into the corridors of power, Malartic addresses the fundamental issue of sustainable and fair land management.

Over Silent Paths

May 1910 •English

In the heart of the American west, a miner toils day after day at his rocker box while his young daughter keeps his camp. His daughter persuades him to return to civilization, where they may enjoy the fruits of their labor. Both are happy in the anticipation of what seems a bright future. While she's away, a desert wanderer appears at the camp, and at the sight of the old man weighing his gold is seized with cupidity. He himself had toiled long in the wilds, but with no success, so he demands that the old man divide his gains with him. This, of course, the miner decries, and the wanderer uses force to obtain the old man's gold. The wanderer collapses in the desert, only to be rescued by a certain young woman: the miner's daughter.

Gold

February 2016 •English

Kenny Wells, a modern-day prospector, hustler, and dreamer, is desperate for a lucky break. Left with few options, Wells teams up with an equally luckless geologist to execute a grandiose, last-ditch effort: to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.

Margaret's Museum

September 1995 •English

In a town where half the men die down the coalpit, Margaret MacNeil is quite happy being single in her small Cape Breton island town. Until she meets Neil Currie, a charming and sincere bagpipe-playing, Gaelic-speaking dishwasher. But no matter what you do, you can't avoid the spectre of the pit forever.

The Miners of Donetsk

May 1951 •Russian

A miners in Donbass embrace new technologies with enthusiasm.

The Ballad of Little Jo

August 1993 •English

After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.

Das Wunder von Lengede

February 1969 •German

Director's Commentary: Terror Of Frankenstein

May 2015 •English

'Terror of Frankenstein' is an exercise in extreme meta-fictional tragicomedy. Presented as the commentary track of a rushed reissue of a forgotten (but 100% genuine) Frankenstein film's DVD (because of unspecified 'recent events'), this project transforms the film into an entirely new, very human horror story. Featuring Clu Gulager as the director of the 1977 original who is happily exploiting the unmentioned tragedy linked to the film, the recording session unravels a mystery as he clashes with the screenwriter (Zack Brown) and, ultimately, its star (Leon Vitali from Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and Barry Lyndon, playing himself.) 'Terror of Frankenstein' is Mystery Science Theater 3000 by way of Sartre, an icy satire of the monsters onscreen, behind the camera, and in the audience.

Germinal

September 1963 •French

Dismissed from the railroads in 1863 for his union activities, Etienne Lantier found a job at the Voreux coal mine. But work was hard, wages were low and safety left much to be desired. Lantier tried to organize the miners into a union. When mine manager Hennebeau refused to negotiate, the workers launched a general strike, which ended with the intervention of the troops.

Fighting Mad

February 1976 •English

An evil corporation tries to pressure a bunch of Arkansas farmers and ranchers to sell their land so they can strip-mine it for coal. The fiercely proud and stubborn Hunter family refuse to give in. This leads to a bitter conflict that results in several casualties. Eventually the take-charge no-nonsense Tom Hunter exacts a harsh revenge on the villains with the help of his bow and arrow.

The Burial of Kojo

November 2018 •Akan

A man is trapped in a mine shaft by his vengeful brother while his daughter embarks on a magical journey to rescue him.