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The Filleting Machine was Amber’s first wholly fictional film, and was scripted by Tom Hadaway. The story which is set in North Shields concerns domestic conflict between a husband and wife. The family who live on a council estate, depend largely for their livelihood upon the unpredictable fortunes of the fishing industry. The wife has ambitions for her children which extend beyond the circumstances of her own life, and she sees education as the escape route to that “better” life. Her husband, however, is convinced that cash in the hand is what really counts and declares his total lack of faith in her ideas. Their opposing views dominate the plot until out of the blue they learn that the husband’s job is under threat and then previous grievances forgotten, they join forces in an effort to face the threat together.

The making of the Filleting Machine represented a milestone in Amber’s film-making history. In effect it signified a transition from the “straight” documentary style to the making of drama and more recently drama/documentary films. It was in some senses an experiment; not only was it the first drama film, but also the first time we had worked in close liaison with a writer, and actors. Since the making of The Filleting Machine Amber has continued to enjoy a close relationship with writer Tom Hadaway.

The film was one of a number of Amber’s productions purchased by Channel Four, and in 1983, the Channel commissioned the group to produce a programme which would contextualise the film, and demonstrate the notion of integrated practice. The programme opened with a series of images of the estate where the film was set, over which were laid voices setting out factors relation to unemployment, and bias against women. The concluding section of the programme showed the film being screened and discussed by pupils in a local school with the actors present, followed by a number of filmed discussions on the estate during which a group of housewives debated the accuracy of the film, and unemployed teenagers talked about the woman’s attitude towards her husband. The British Film Institute described the programme as an exemplary example of contextualisation.

An AMBER Production featuring:

• Lynn Crosland
• David Heads
• Betty Hepple
• Tom Hadaway

1981
Running time: 41 mins
Colour

Awards

An Outstanding Film of the Year, London (82)