IPSWICH will host the Australian premiere of the international multi-award winning documentary feature film, Blood on the Coal - the Queensland miners' story at the Ipswich Event Cinema tonight.

The film features many Ipswich residents reflecting on the pioneering history of the West Moreton coalfield, the birthplace of Queensland's thriving coal industry.

Among them is 95-year-old Charles "Digger" Murphy, who started in the underground coal mines as a 15-year old boy in 1934 and went on to become President of the Queensland Colliery Employees Union.

Digger still lives in the family home in Ipswich.

Among the most moving features of the film are the first-hand accounts of now-retired coal miners recalling the terrible events of the 1972 Box Flat coal mine disaster, which took the lives of 17 of their workmates and friends.

They tell emotionally of the shock and horror of that day and the mark it still leaves on them and their families.

Blood on the Coal was produced by the independent production company Matilda Films, and already it has won three international awards.

At the Indie Fest International Film Festival it was the only Australian feature documentary film to win the Award of Excellence and at the Accolade Global Film Competition Blood on the Coal was one of only three Australian feature documentaries to win the Award of Excellence.

Just prior to the Australian premiere in Ipswich, the producers were informed that the film has been highly commended by the judges at the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival and is in line for a top Award at this prestigious event.

The winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on April 18 in Texas.

Previous WorldFest winners include legendary directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, The Coen Brothers and Francis Ford Coppola, who all won their first awards at this festival.

At the time of publish, seats were still available for tonight's premiere screening in Ipswich.