How to get tickets for screening of film about Sunderland's historic Vaux Brewery

There will be two screenings of A Passion for Vaux - Sunderland's Lost Brewery – at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens on July 2, which marks 20 years to the day since the famous city centre brewery closed its gates for the final time.

Produced by local company, Lonely Tower Film & Media, the film honours the traditions of Vaux which operated on Wearside for 162 years, becoming an iconic brand known for its beers and dray horses which would deliver around the area.

As a business where family values and loyalty between management and workforce were paramount, Vaux was an anomaly in the late 20th Century world of the Big City shareholders.

The film features moving interviews with Vaux chairman Sir Paul Nicholson and his brother, Vaux Breweries managing director Frank Nicholson, along with workers, publicans and many others who were involved in the Vaux story.

Mark Thorburn, from Lonely Tower Film & Media, says Vaux’s history is one that runs deep in the city.

Mark explained: “From a producer’s point of view it has drama because of what happened to Vaux, but it’s also a story with real heart.

“Metaphorically, if you opened a vein in Sunderland it would bleed Double Maxim. It was something that connected people.

“It’s not a film that’s stuck in the past, or one that romanticises what Sunderland lost: it celebrates Sunderland’s spirit.

“The Vaux family, the way it operated, its ethics, that camaraderie still exists in Sunderland today.”

*There will be two screenings of A Passion for Vaux - Sunderland's Lost Brewery at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens on July 2 at 5.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets for the 5.30pm screening are available here. Tickets for the 7.30pm screening are available here.

Tickets are also available in person from the Sunderland Libraries desk inside Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. On the night there will be classic Vaux beers (Double Maxim etc) from Maxim Brewery.