Aftershocks' (A Study Guide)

Aftershocks (Geoff Burton, 1998) is a film examining the experiences of eleven people who were in the Newcastle Workers' Club at the time of a serious earthquake in December 1989. Neither a re-enactment nor a documentary, the film uses the words of these survivors, interspersed with TV news footage, to construct a compelling examination of the impact of such an event on the people who were touched by it. The words of the eleven survivors featured in this film are spoken by actors, but there is a sense of immediacy and credibility that makes it difficult to believe that the speakers were not the actual participants in the drama.

Aftershocks offers opportunities for valuable and sensitive learning experiences in English, Geography, Social Sciences, Psychology, Media and Drama.