'The Town I Love So Well' Premiere Screening
The Town I Love So Well premiered on 17th March 2025. More than 300 people were at the Parkway Cinema Barnsley for the documentary’s big screen debut, which was followed by a Q&A session with Sam Batley. This screening was free and open to the public.
" ‘The Town I Love So Well’ pays homage to the abundance of creativity, community and culture brimming at the heart of Barnsley, alongside the hearts of its people.
The film’s narrative explores these communities and the richness of their creative pursuit, regardless of generation, circumstance or lived experience. It holds space for stories of traditional industries that were once at the forefront of the town's identity, identities that remain, and ones yet to flourish. To the generation who navigated the world after its collapse, followed by the one to catalyse change, to love loudly, to be heard; this is a yearlong love letter, to the town I love so well. "
- Sam Batley
Watch this space for details of future screenings of The Town I Love So Well in 2025
To find out more about this commission please visit www.barnsley-museums.com/projects/storying-barnsley/a-barnsley-story
‘The Town I Love So Well’ has been commissioned and funded by Barnsley Council's Cultural Development Fund programme, Storying Barnsley.
PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS FEATURED IN FILM
Ailish Treanor - Artist
David Sinclair - Curator
Eloise Clarkson - Artist
Helen Boutle - Creative Recovery
Julie Turner - Dearne Community Arts Festival
Rob Younger - Parkway Cinema
Borough - Local Arts Collective
Ian MacMillan - Poet
Judy Holling - Fundraiser
Chris Skidmore - National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Joe Rollin - Trade Union Organiser
Dave Cherry - Musician/Archivist
Craig Oldham - Designer
Jayde Marie Bell - Artist
Tamzin Jebson - Filmmaker
Dylan Cubbin - Editor
EYUP Charity
Dodworth Miners Welfare
Goldthorpe Pentecostal Church
Barnsley Civic
Barnsley Archives and Local Studies
Barnsley Main Heritage Group
Barnsley Markets
Barnsley Football Club
Morris Dobson Museum
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Creative Recovery
Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Parkway Cinema
Barnsley Refugee Council
Dearne Community Arts Festival
PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS WHO INFLUENCED FILM
Dan Draper - Filmmaker
Claire Dawson - Barnsley Council
Sean O’Connell - Photographer
Harley Roberts - Artist
Debbie Blessed - Community Shop Goldthorpe
Jenny Batley - Producer
Jason White - Barnsley Civic
Elizabeth Dickinson - Barnsley Civic
Darryl Hand - Barnsley Council
Coby Walsh - Barnsley Council
Liane Holdsworth - Barnsley Council
National Coal Mining Museum
Dearne IKIC (I Know I Can) Centre
Snap Tin Café & Community Hub
Dearne Recovery Steps
Community Shop
City Of Sanctuary
Barnsley Libraries
Barnsley Youth Choir
B-Friends