Women of the Rhondda
Brigid Seagrave
Esther Ronay
Humphrey Trevelyan
Margaret Dickinson
Mary Crapps
Mary Kelly
Susan Shapiro
‘Women of the Rhondda’ turns much needed attention to the role played by women in the gruelling Welsh Miners' Strikes of the 1920s and 1930s. The film consists of interviews with four Rhondda women interspersed with shots from Rhondda streets and coal mines. The memories elicited, as well as the importance of working class women's contributions to the strike makes this film essential viewing. The film shows a tremendous commitment to its subject, and an insistence that oppression resides in “trivial” details and everyday assumptions. ‘My brothers ended up the strike very, very sunburnt, whilst my mother was worn out'. (Mrs Davies)
A story of solidarity and women's courage which has stayed hidden in more conventional histories. What comes across is the strength of women within the struggles of the labour movement.
Description source: Cinenova Catalogue (1994). Edited by Kate Norrish. Editorial committee: Elaine Burrows, Liane Harris, Helen de Witt
