_HD Video, Hand-drawn Illustration _Duration: 17:25 mins _Camera: Peter Tyler _Music: Simon Walker, Covering 'Black Sabbath' (T. Iommi, O. Osbourne, G. Butler, B. Ward) _Copyright: Mat Do
MCCRACKEN VEND LA MINE (McCracken sells the Mine) was commissioned by Florence Mine, funded through Arts Council England, and coordinated by Grizedale Arts – made entirely by local non-professional theatre group members from the West-Cumbria region.
The film was developed and made on location at Florence Mine – the last working deep iron ore mine in Europe (closing to tourists and visitors in 2008). The adjacent town of Egremont is the closest satellite worker town to Sellafield Nuclear Facility; with the decommissioning of the original site and the establishment of a new deep geological nuclear waste repository, now acting as the largest source of local employment.
Adopting the backdrop of a constantly shifting face of industry, employment and the colourful make-up of the town's cultural and historical context (E.g. it's the location of the world famous annual crab fair and world gurning and greasy pole competitions) The film's inspiration was sourced directly via the 1991 Simpsons episode -- 'Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk' written by Jon Vitti.
The original transcript of the episode undertook several re-writes and adaptations via a newly instated film-making constituency and explores intimately the shift in employment patterns, job security and impact that sole industry can have on its common populous.
The artist residency at Florence Mine was facilitated and coordinated by Alistair Hudson (Grizedale Arts) and Simon Walker (Copeland Borough Council)
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