In a modest terrace house in Sheffield, sometime in the 1960s, a man returned from a 12-hour steel shift covered in soot, his eyes heavy from exhaustion, his mind on familym both here and thousands of miles away. He was not alone. Thousands like him helped build not just Britain’s postwar economy, but also its multicultural soul.

“Pioneers: Made in Sheffield”, the debut documentary from Shahid Ali, captures these untold stories. It’s an intimate, often emotional journey into the lives of the Pakistani and Kashmiri immigrants who settled in Sheffield and toiled in its legendary steel industry. 

If you’re from Sheffield, watch it. If your parents or grandparents ever worked a factory shift or came here with nothing but a suitcase, watch it. If you care about the human side of history, watch it.

Because what they built with blistered hands and tired backs… we’re still standing on it today.