East End Stories

Do you live in Tower Hamlets, and are interested in history, film or photography? We are working with local people to explore community histories, learn new skills, and make short films inspired by archives.

Our recent projects included:

Four Corners Film Workshop

As we celebrated Four Corners' 50th anniversary in 2025, this project looked at its early history of radical, social filmmaking practice in the 1970s and 80s. We are also working in collaboration with Dr Hollie Price, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Keele through the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The project worked with participants to record oral histories, undertake archival research, learn Premiere Pro editing and created short films which were shown in an exhibition in 2025. 

Workers Newsreel Project 

The Workers Film & Photo League (WFPL) was a group of radical amateur filmmakers and photographers, active in East London during the 1930s. Their films offer a unique picture of working class lives, resonating strongly with today's concerns of food poverty, work precarity and the cost of living crisis.

Participants explored the history of the WFPL, and created their own films which were exhibited at Four Corners in 2025. The project was co-led by Sam Stevens of the Film & Photo League Archive, and generously supported by Cameracrate with the donation of two Super 8mm cameras.

All projects offer travel and refreshments costs.

Applications to take part in East End Stories 2026 will open this summer.
Please click here to join our mailing list, where we will share the latest updates on the project.  

PARTNERS 

East End Stories was also part of The People’s Gallery, which is opening up our archives to share histories of engaged film and photography in East London. The project has been supported by Oxford House, Mulberry Secondary School, the University of Westminster and the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media, and Hollie Price, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, University of Keele through the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Photograph: Participants at the Battle of Cable Street mural, November 2024.