A new film celebrating South Shields is on the way - and you can be part of it as well

The film, which is set to premiere online in April, celebrates the town’s culture and showcases what the area has to offer as residents and local business owners ponder the question ‘What is a Sanddancer?’.

People will recognise some familiar faces as local musician Jack Fox and Ziggy's owner Stephen Sullivan also get in front of the camera to talk about South Shields

Nathan Glendinning, who started the project, says spending more time in his home town made him appreciate South Shields even more and he wanted to give something back to the community.

Nathan said: “I wanted to make something that would cheer people up, but also give them the same sense of pride that I have whenever I do my exercise and see some of the sights along the river or walk down the coast.

“I wanted to do it so that other residents of the town would be motivated and have a little bit more pride for their town.”

But as filming advanced Nathan realised the video could also showcase local businesses and help them when lockdown restrictions are eased and they can reopen.

He said: “We want to make a short film that really highlights to those that are outside the community what we have to offer, highlight key local businesses and help them, draw more tourism in.

"We just wanted to give something back to the town and the people that I've grown up with and that has given me so much.”

Nathan added: “South Shields has people that are very strong-willed and we have dealt with problems in the past like the shipyards strike, coal mines closing down.

"We’ve always just come back stronger from it and I just really want to put it to people that because of who we are as a community we will get past Covid and we will be stronger for that.”

Nathan is on the lookout for more perspectives on South Shields to feature in the film, including from business owners, residents over 65 and women aged 25-40. If you’d like to take part, contact Nathan at [email protected]