LuneTube Treasures Head To Archive
Written by Danny on 20/05/2018
The work of a group of North Lancashire film-makers has been identified as of historic importance and will be preserved for posterity.
Films produced by LuneTube will be added to the collections of the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University, where they will be held for the benefit of future generations.
LuneTube are a group of film-makers and history enthusiasts, based in Lancaster. They devote their spare time to producing short films about the heritage of North Lancashire. Their work is released online and has attracted over 50,000 viewers since launching in September 2017.
The team have already documented everything from the Greyhound Bridge in Lancaster, to a disused tram at Sunderland Point. They’ve looked at secret wartime work in Middleton and traced the history of Morecambe’s cinemas. Many of their films focus on lesser-known stories from local history and feature scenes of everyday life in the district.
As they look forward to a summer break at the end of June; the LuneTube creators are preparing for their work to be accessioned by the Archive.
LuneTube Producer Janine Bebbington is thrilled with the news, “it’s an honour for our work to be recognised in this way. We’ve been conscious making these films that much of our heritage is disappearing from around us, so to preserve it on film means it will live on.”
“Once the films are in the archive, they will be available for future generations to study. Who knows what the historians of the 25th Century will make of them?”
Fellow Producer David Chandler added, “When we visited the NWFA vaults, we saw films on the shelf covering everything from Mitchell & Kenyon to Granada Television, so we are in good company.”
Nick Gladden, Acquisition and Documentation Officer at the North West Film Archive said “We are very keen to increase the number of contemporary titles in our collection, and the LuneTube collection offers some great material on a range of different topics – we’re very happy to have it!”
The NWFA cares for over 50,000 items from the pioneer days of film in the mid-1890s to video production of the present day. The work of both the professional and the amateur is collected.
The NWFA will store the material in their world class temperature and humidity-controlled vaults, to ensure its preservation for future generations.
LuneTube will have produced nearly 50 films by the time their first season draws to a close in June.
For more information on LuneTube, visit http://lunetube.co.uk
