Why Not Watch?
Don’t worry world! We always support watching documentaries legally and many of the films we recommend on Influence Film Club are available where you live too. We suggest using your preferred method for watching a film – such as searching iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, VOD platforms (video-on-demand), or renting/buying a DVD.
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DARK HORSE is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a former mining village in the Welsh countryside who decide to take on the elite “sport of kings” and breed themselves a racehorse.
Director: Louise Osmond
Share this film. Give others the chance to be inspired by its story.
Watch AFTER COAL, a documentary on the mining industry and the transition away from traditional fossil fuels, which highlights former mining communities in Kentucky, U.S., and Wales, U.K.
Learn more about the work of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance that funds organizations that care for race horses once their careers are finished – they offer many ways to help.
Realize that life is defined by actions, not thoughts. If you desire something enough, give it a shot, do not let others define your path to it, surround yourself with supportive individuals, and work tirelessly towards reaching it.
Support responsible horse breeding and humane horse racing. The Humane Society of the United States and Animal Aid U.K. offer more information on how horse racing can be improved.
“I knew the first time I heard this story that I would do pretty much anything to make it [into a documentary]. It was so funny and moving and life-affirming; a classic rags-to-riches tale. As the producer Judith Dawson and I started to spend time in the valley, it also became clear it was something that ran very deep for the people involved.”
Read the full interview on Indie Wire.
“Brian Vokes is proof that dreams do come true – if only men listen to their wives. Outsider Dream Alliance’s 2009 Welsh National triumph at Chepstow is one for the Hollywood scriptwriters…”
Read the full article on BBC Sport.
“Bookies’ cash helps to support racing, but betting on the horses is becoming less popular…” Find out more on the Telegraph.
WINTER EVENINGS
Cozy documentaries that will make you feel the spirit of winter.
“A stem cell treatment first used on racehorses could help humans battle a crippling Achilles tendon disease, scientists have revealed.”
Read the full article here.
“Many parts of the UK have suffered from the decline of heavy industry, but the Welsh valleys are a grim emblem of the despair that lack of work can create, writes Mark Easton for The Editors, a programme which sets out to ask challenging questions. It is a journey I have been meaning to make for years. To Blaenau Gwent in the valleys of South Wales. To proud old colliery towns like Cwm, stretched out along the River Ebbw.”
Continue reading on BBC.
Read about the social rules concerning some quintessential English sporting events here.
“In the 1930s, George Orwell volunteered to spend time down a coal mine to find what life was like for coal miners. For the six foot, middle class, old Etonian, the experience of going down a mine was a real shock. The experience left him sore and full of admiration for those who worked down the mine. But, as Orwell remarked, coal was essential to the British way of life. At its peak, the British coal industry employed over a million men…”
Continue reading here.
“If you’ve been holding back from going after your dreams, or if you’re trying to make your dreams work but are feeling defeated due to the lack of support, then this is an opportunity for you to reclaim your power.”
Find out more on the Huffington Post.
"A rousing real-life fairy tale made with both heart and humour."
The Independent
"A gentle, winning beautiful little story."
Indie Wire
