Langholm Made artist Emma Dove has assembled a programme of short films, spanning 1945 to the present day, which observe and celebrate the roles played by women across the weaving and textile industries in the UK and worldwide - from mill workers to garment makers, ‘waulkers’ to home menders, hand weavers and textile recyclers.
‘infinite hands’ brings together films from the British Film Institute’s ‘Textiles on Film’ collection, paired with contemporary films from the UK, Myanmar and India. Together they explore themes of labour, industry and mechanisation, camaraderie and teamwork, shifting attitudes, gendered roles and worker’s rights, material culture, fast fashion, recycling, industrial decline and overseas labour.
Further information about the film programme available here
↓ Click the tabs on the right to read a description of each individual film below ↓
Although the 'infinite hands' film programme is no longer available, this film can also be watched here
By 1987 the textile manufacturers of Nottingham were having to persuade young people to enter the industry. Women working in the city’s textile factories were questioning the low pay, repetitive work and long hours, and outworkers were fed up with the irregularities of the job.
City of Women tells a familiar story of industrial decline, covering themes of fast fashion, cheap overseas labour and changing attitudes towards work. Gone were the days of automatically entering the trade and having a ‘job for life’. Yet is also highlights the essential roles that women played within the industry at the time, as well as the inherent biases of the men running those industries. And whilst men act as the official ‘spokespeople’ for the industry itself - discussing margins, seasons, trends and workers - it is the women who tell the real story of working in the industry - the highs and lows, the daily rhythm, the camaraderie - as one woman remarks, “you seem to know the girls here better than you know your own family”. And as is seen in an enacted fantasy sequence, it is clear that the desire to ‘throw it all out the window’ was sometimes a very real one.
This film is also available via BFI Player's ‘Textiles on Film’ series
Film supplied by Media Archive for Central England at University of Lincoln.
- Year1987
- Runtime25 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited Kingdom
- RatingPG
- NoteThemes: economic decline, women’s work, changing attitudes, young people, trade, outwork, sexism, gendered roles, world trade, overseas labour, fast fashion, mechanics, industrial decline
- DirectorStephen Engelhard
- ProducerMalcolm Frazer
- Executive ProducerCentral Independent Television
Langholm Made artist Emma Dove has assembled a programme of short films, spanning 1945 to the present day, which observe and celebrate the roles played by women across the weaving and textile industries in the UK and worldwide - from mill workers to garment makers, ‘waulkers’ to home menders, hand weavers and textile recyclers.
‘infinite hands’ brings together films from the British Film Institute’s ‘Textiles on Film’ collection, paired with contemporary films from the UK, Myanmar and India. Together they explore themes of labour, industry and mechanisation, camaraderie and teamwork, shifting attitudes, gendered roles and worker’s rights, material culture, fast fashion, recycling, industrial decline and overseas labour.
Further information about the film programme available here
↓ Click the tabs on the right to read a description of each individual film below ↓
Although the 'infinite hands' film programme is no longer available, this film can also be watched here
By 1987 the textile manufacturers of Nottingham were having to persuade young people to enter the industry. Women working in the city’s textile factories were questioning the low pay, repetitive work and long hours, and outworkers were fed up with the irregularities of the job.
City of Women tells a familiar story of industrial decline, covering themes of fast fashion, cheap overseas labour and changing attitudes towards work. Gone were the days of automatically entering the trade and having a ‘job for life’. Yet is also highlights the essential roles that women played within the industry at the time, as well as the inherent biases of the men running those industries. And whilst men act as the official ‘spokespeople’ for the industry itself - discussing margins, seasons, trends and workers - it is the women who tell the real story of working in the industry - the highs and lows, the daily rhythm, the camaraderie - as one woman remarks, “you seem to know the girls here better than you know your own family”. And as is seen in an enacted fantasy sequence, it is clear that the desire to ‘throw it all out the window’ was sometimes a very real one.
This film is also available via BFI Player's ‘Textiles on Film’ series
Film supplied by Media Archive for Central England at University of Lincoln.
- Year1987
- Runtime25 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited Kingdom
- RatingPG
- NoteThemes: economic decline, women’s work, changing attitudes, young people, trade, outwork, sexism, gendered roles, world trade, overseas labour, fast fashion, mechanics, industrial decline
- DirectorStephen Engelhard
- ProducerMalcolm Frazer
- Executive ProducerCentral Independent Television