A Farewell to the Macclesfield Barnaby Festival

A film commissioned by Macclesfield Barnaby Festival premiered last week at a special event in Townley Hall.

Many thanks to everyone who came to the film premier and closing event for Macclesfield Barnaby Festival and who helped make it a special evening. Whilst sad to say goodbye to Barnaby, the event was a celebration and a fitting tribute to everything the festival has achieved since it was established in 2010. Barnaby leaves such a strong legacy and can proudly say that it has been a catalyst and support for so many artists and groups who have established themselves in Macclesfield.

Barnaby’s final commission, a film co-directed by father and son Mike and Danny Thorpe, set out to capture the spirit of Barnaby as well as celebrate how the festival enriched cultural life in Macclesfield - providing opportunities for artists to create new work and for residents to participate in cultural activity in the town. 

We are pleased to say that the film is now safely preserved at North West Film Archive and is available to view on their Vimeo channel. 

The film can be viewed  for free here:

https://vimeo.com/1073487703

The film, Barnaby: Painting the Town, is a 40 minute documentary that features some of the people involved in Barnaby over the years, including artists, performers, volunteers, and team members. It acts as a visual record and celebration of the past fifteen years of creative ambition delivered by the Festival as well as exploring its ups and downs. It is a wonderful tribute to the festival, Mike and Danny have done a fantastic job.

The documentary includes historic film footage of Macclesfield from North West Film Archive of events such as the crowning of the Silk Queen and a fun day on the Moss Rose estate.

The film ends with a new piece of work written and performed by Ailsa Holland and Angie Aiken, which was filmed in Paradise Mill, part of the Silk Museum. The piece features original spoken word and new music performed on the cello and was written especially for Barnaby. It is a fitting end to the Festival, which saw many artists commissioned to create new work premiered in the town. The soundtrack to the film features music by Danny’s band Racing Glaciers as well as a track by L.A.S.H, a Macclesfield-based quartet.

Enormous thanks also to Dan Crookes and the team from APS Events and Media for their amazing tech support on the night, SilkScreen Film society for loan of the projector and Lizzie Latham from Helio events and so many others for their help.

At the heart of the Festival has been the community, its partnerships, its sense of place and distinctiveness. We are grateful to all those who have supported Barnaby Festival over the years, either as trustees, volunteers, artists, partners, funders, or venues. We would not have been able to do this without them.

We are delighted to end on a creative note through this film with new poetry and music by Ailsa and Angie. We’d like to thank Mike and Danny for making this wonderful film and all the people who have given their time and hearts to Barnaby over the years.  

Macclesfield Barnaby Festival Trustees

http://www.Barnabyfestival.org.uk