Joe Cornick (director)
(studio)
46 (length)
18 October 2026 (released)
12 h
The rather unwieldy title belies a subtly passionate film about the town of Port Talbot, Wales and the steelworks that dominated the life of the community.
The film features a synth ambient soundtrack by Benjamin Doherty and was shot on 16mm. The combination is striking with images of the huge steelworks silhouetted against the sky and the beautiful surrounding mountains. Then changing to show the towering brutalism of the steelworks and its almost total domination over the town.
Director and writer Joe Cornick lets the people of Port Talbot tell their stories. No talking heads just the occasional photograph and them in frame. It gives more power to the words as they pass on their life stories of family and the community.
There are families that are fourth generation smelters that rub with fourth generation bakers, emphasising the bond with the town and the steelworks.
Its quietly told interspersed with images of the furnaces and daily life. However what unfolds is not a co-dependency but an absolute dependence on the steelworks. Not only those directly employed but the ancillary industries as well as the pubs, clubs and shops over generations.
As the film comes to its conclusion so it is that the story of the Port Talbot takes a turn. It’s not said in so many words but the town faces a fundamental change with the steelworks’ change of operations. Its furnaces having been shut down and cannot be brought back.
The use of 16mm gives the film a vaguely nostalgic look, which the film is anything but. There are fond memories of the pub rivalries and activities. Tempered by the growing realisation that things will change as Cornick’s camera focuses on the name of the owners on the works.
Steel: The Blood of Us is not an innovative documentary. What it is, is a valuable document of the past, present and future. The fate of Port Talbot as a town is not unique and there’s likely to be many, in the UK and around the world, who will recognise and understand the effects of losing the core of a community.
There are screenings of Steel: The Blood of Us and its companion film The Face of Change (1976) around the UK through October and November 2026 and into 2027.
