Event

Cinetopia DOC: Nightcleaners + Discussion Panel
DATE PASSEDHosted By CinetopiaThis screening will be followed by a hybrid panel discussion featuring members of the Berwick Street Collective. We will be joined in person by Humphrey Trevelyan, and via zoom: James Scott and artist Mary Kelly (who was also a member of the Cleaners Action Group). 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Nightcleaners (Part 1) (1975) by the Berwick Street Collective, and Cinetopia: DOC are proud to host this special screening of the documentary in Edinburgh, marking the start of a series of 50th anniversary activities being programmed by moving image arts organisation LUX. Nightcleaners (Part 1) captures the struggles of women working as night cleaners in London’s office buildings during the early 1970s and their early attempts to unionise. The film documents their efforts and the broader campaign to improve their working conditions, invisible labour both low-paid and isolated. Rather than follow a conventional narrative, the filmmakers employ a fragmented, experimental style that reflects the complexity and disorientation of political struggle. This approach challenges viewers to engage critically, not passively, with both the subject matter and the medium itself.
https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/movie/nightcleaners-qa