The Sheffield Film Co-operative and the Women’s Liberation Movement

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss feminist independent film, its working practices and issues its films represented using the Sheffield Film Co-operative (1975-1991) as a case study. The study uses the seven demands of the national Women's Liberation Movement as a framework to analyse issues featured in selected films produced by the Sheffield Film Co-operative. This study will show that there was a strong connection between the Sheffield Film Co-operative's representation of women's issues and the Women's Liberation's demands, indicating that this regional independent film company not only had value to Sheffield but also nationally. This study will discuss the emergence and the working practices of Sheffield Film Co-operative, its role within the broader context of Sheffield Independent Film and the Women’s Liberation Movement and the various methods implemented by Sheffield Film Co-operative that attempted to raise public consciousness of women's issues. This thesis will add to a growing body of literature regarding feminist independent film and video and the historical culture of independent film and video in Sheffield. This study will add to existing research and provide an impetus for further study in this emerging area of study.