Film Number

11464

Title

THE NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME, MANCHESTER

Producer

Huckleberry Films

Date

2016

Gauge

.mov

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Running Time

24 mins 04 secs

Description

A record of Manchester’s contribution to the events on 1st July 2016 commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. After scenes of planning and preparation, the film hears from those involved in the project, both organisers and participants, from children in the clay workshop making ‘memory tiles’ for the lost soldiers, to Philip Barratt, Canon Preceptor of Manchester Cathedral, and some of the volunteer dancers. We also see preparatory work in Heaton Park, as the stage is erected and the tiles laid in a pathway. In an adjoining area, living history re-enactors engage with visitors, and there are excerpts from the performance itself, hosted by Nihal Arhanayake. The audience, well wrapped up against the rain, watches a children’s choir, speakers including Lemn Sissay, professional dancers performing on the stage, while others, placed amongst the crowd, stand up and join in. There is music from the Halle Orchestra and guest soloists, before a lone bugler sounds The Last Post.