We are excited to announce a new project thanks to a £50,000 Archives Revealed Grant from The National Archives.  Presenting Video Vera focuses on a remarkable collection of video works created by Vera Media, a production and training partnership founded in Leeds by Catherine Mitchell and Al Garthwaite.

In 1985, faced with almost a complete lack of women in the film and television production industry, this ground-breaking collective was set up as a call to action and with a determination to change the face of the independent film and television sector.  

From its inception in 1985 until 2007, Vera Media produced over 150 documentaries and dramas focussing on socially engaging work with arts, education, feminist and community organizations.  Productions have been broadcast on the BBC, ITV, and other broadcasters, winning awards at festivals worldwide. 

"This collection, rooted in the communities of West Yorkshire, has been largely inaccessible and undiscoverable to those communities since the films were originally made.  We're so excited to be able to bring this collection to light once again thanks to the generous grant from Archives Revealed." Megan McCooley, Co-Director 

Our ambition is to unlock this collection, not only through vital cataloguing and accessibility to the films on our online catalogue, but through a series of special curated screenings accompanied by Q&As with the filmmakers, published contextual research, and community co-curated online exhibitions.  

"This award to Vera Media is thrilling.  It gives a unique opportunity to share our work as feminist and collaborative film-makers with the widest possible audience.  I'm particularly looking forward to screening our work in the Leeds communities where much of it was produced."  Al Garthwaite, Vera Media 

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the UK dedicated to the cataloguing and unlocking of archival collections.  The programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, and The National Archives.  Its goal is to ensure that significant archive collections, representing the lives and perspective of all people across the UK, are made accessible to the public for research and enjoyment.