A 45-minute film featuring 1,553 Salford residents will be projected onto two of the city's most prominent buildings today (Saturday, October 10) as part of the Salford Everywhere event celebrating Salford's 100th anniversary.
The video will be beamed onto the University of Salford's Maxwell Building on The Crescent and the Salford Shopping Centre tower in Pendleton. The project, created by filmmaker Matthew Rosier and produced by From The Other, was commissioned as part of Salford 100.
Community venues at the heart of the film
The Lower Kersal Social Club was one of ten venues that took part in the creation of the film. Courtney Haggerty, 30, who runs the club with her partner Alex Bardsley and his father Anthony Bardsley, said: "The filmmakers were looking for a large space where they could meet and chat to local people and as we have a huge function room which can take 300 people it was perfect for them."
The club, which has been run by the family for 30 years, hosted a range of community members for the filming, including lollipop ladies, a Morris Dancing troupe, Salford City fans, primary schools, and specialist schools for people with disabilities.
Haggerty said: "Our family has run the club for 30 years and it is a massive part of the community. The people we brought in for the filming are the kind of people that walk through our doors every day for different functions. We deal with everything, the good, the bad - we do weddings, funerals, charity events."
A collective portrait of the city
Other venues visited for the video included Irlam Catholic Club, Salford Lads and Girls Club, the Grand Palais in Swinton, Walkden Cricket Club, Worsley Country Club Hotel, and Eccles Town Hall.
Filmmaker Matthew Rosier said: "We wanted to do a collective monumental portait of the city to celebrate its 100th year. To do that we wanted to visit all the different neighbourhoods of the borough. We went to ten different locations and we brought a touring film set to each one."
The film features pigeon fanciers, NHS workers, construction workers, supermarket teams, school children, chess players, dementia support groups, food bank charity teams, local athletes, Royal Mail staff, and members of different ethnic groups like the Yemeni community.
Screening details and historical significance
The video will be screened twice at the University between 6pm and 10pm, accompanied by live and recorded music celebrating the city's musical history, featuring local choirs and brass bands. It will be screened at The Precinct between 7pm and 10pm.
Rosier noted the event coincides with the 175th anniversary of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's visit to Peel Park on October 10, 1851, where they were met by over 80,000 school children. Their statues now face each other on the lawn in front of Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
Reflecting on the project, Rosier said: "It showed me a city that really cares. There is this feeling of pride and wanting to represent that and be part of this collective. Having spent a month editing the footage of over 1,500 Salfordians, what comes through is the humour, togetherness and toughness of the place."
