This showcase of documentary films capture the realities of working classes by working class film makers. From short and sharp fragments of a day to a more expansive historical document, this showcase offers the ways reality can be captured and framed.
Autistic Joy (2024)
Maddi Crease (England)
Autistic Joy is a micro short poetry film exploring the side of autism that often goes unspoken and under-explored: the joyful. From happy stimming to sensory delight. Autistic Joy delivers an insight into the positives within our autistic experience.
Adas Falasteen (2025)
Dir. Samar Taher Lulu (Palestine)
"Palestine Lentils" is a documentary film that tells the story of a Palestinian chef and his role in using his hobby as a shield against the famine caused by the war on Gaza, preserving the spirit of resilience and hope within his community.
SONNET (2025)
Dir. Yaann les Jours (France)
Mara is a boxer. At the end of her training, her coach asks her to do one more very high intensity series of punches. She shows him, and us, what she's still capable of.
www.instagram.com/@yann_les_jours
Swim Sistas (2025)
Catherine Joy White (UK)
Swim Sistas is a poetic and visually rich love letter to water, sisterhood, and the resilience of Black women across generations.
Narrated by Academy Award® nominee Naomie Harris as Mami Wata, Swim Sistas follows three generations of Black British women, from an Olympic trailblazer to a 54-year-old first-time swimmer, in a lyrical celebration of joy, sisterhood and resilience.
@swimsistasfilm / @catherinejoywhite
If Not Now (2024)
Jill Daniels (UK)
In 1978, Bengali workers organised the first black strike in England against the fascist National Front and later that year the National Front attempted to march through Brick Lane in East London. This poetic essay film explores whether resistance to fascism in the past may be a catalyst for resistance today.
Framing New Brighton (2025)
Dylan Cubbin (UK)
Renowned photographers Ken Grant, Alex Hurst, and Tom Wood revisit their photographs of the seaside town of New Brighton, uncovering the untold stories and inspiration behind each frame, while exploring the connection between artist and place.
https://www.instagram.com/dylancubbin
The Working Class Film Festival
Friday 8 - Sunday 10 May 2026 sees the inaugural Working Class Film Festival take place at Showroom Cinema. The festival aims to highlight the talent of a wide and underrepresented demographic within the film industry; with only 8% of people working within the creative sector being born into a working class family.
Explore The Working Class Film Festival
Director Various
Duration
1h 11m