We are very excited to announce our latest Festival In My Neighbourhood event, Capturing a Summer, a short film created by the residents of East Salford and filmmaker Danielle Swindells in partnership with Paradise Works, an artist-led studio community of 35 contemporary visual artists by the Irwell in Lower Broughton. 

Our Festival In My Neighbourhood programme has seen local community groups present everything from live music in parks and libraries to textiles workshops and fashion shows in neighbourhoods across Greater Manchester. 

Reimagined in the light of COVID-19, residents of East Salford were invited to submit short videos, photos or writing using a mobile phone or webcam which show who they are and how they’ve been living during lockdown. The result is Capturing a Summer, a collective personal record of life in East Salford during the coronavirus pandemic made up of some 150-plus contributions from local residents.

 

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WIP: some of my favourite stills from the Capturing A Summer film I’be been editing over the last weeks with @mifestival & @paradiseworks_ 🎞 In August we put an online open call to the people of East Salford asking them to send us their documentation of this historic summer ~ over the following month we received an an overwhelming amount of photographs, VHS footage, iPhone recordings and poems which I’m currently stitching together into a film that will premiere online late November. I can’t wait to show you what everyone has made together whilst being apart ✨

A post shared by Danielle Swindells (@danielleswindells) on Oct 14, 2020 at 4:48am PDT

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, filmmaker Danielle said:

“The aim of the project is to establish a social connection between people living in the East Salford area and the artists in Paradise Works studios. At a time when the most socially responsible thing we can do is avoid other people, and in an era where we communicate less and less with neighbours… creating a digital project where we can learn about other people’s experiences and share something personal about our journey this summer could provide a sense of connection.”

Capturing a Summer will premiere via MIF Live at 7pm on Wednesday 25 November. Watch for free via this website or YouTube. 

In the months following this premiere, a new cohort of local artists and creatives, chosen by a community panel of 12 Greater Manchester residents, will be supported by MIF to host digital events in their own homes as part of Festival in My House… And Yours. 

With recent events ranging from voguing parties, to poetry performances and disco cookouts, the next selection of artists will each create a new digital artwork or experience on the theme of togetherness which will be presented monthly on MIF Live starting from December 2020.