Manchester International Festival has teamed up with Paradise Works, an artist-led studio community on the banks of the Irwell, for a very special Festival in My Neighbourhood – reimagined in the light of COVID-19.

They will edit your videos into a truly collaborative film, premiering towards the end of the year, that paints a unique portrait of East Salford and the people who live within it – separated by lockdown but reunited by film into one community.

How you can help

You don’t need a professional camera to make your video: just use a mobile phone or the webcam on your computer. You could send us a video you’ve previously made and/or posted on social media – and you can also submit photos, images or even pieces of writing for inclusion.

You can talk about whatever you want on camera – the main thing is that we want to hear about who you are and how you’ve been living during lockdown. No subject is off limits – but to get you started with some ideas, you talk about…

• Your day-to-day life
• What’s happening on your street
• A journey you’re making on a particular day (you could even take us on it with you!)
• What brings you joy
• How you’re trying to stay positive
• Whether you’ve started doing anything new or different during lockdown (for example, a new hobby)
• How you’re keeping in touch with people you can’t see in person (you could even film one of your conversations)

We’d love to see your face, but you can also talk from behind the camera if you prefer – or, alternatively, you can send in a video that doesn’t feature any speech at all. The only rule is that there are no rules, just submit before Monday 31 August.

If you’d like a little extra guidance or inspiration on how to create a video, join Paradise Works at 6pm on Tuesday 11 August and Thursday 20 August when they will be hosting informal digital get-togethers on Zoom to talk more about the project. These sessions are totally optional – you can submit a film even if you haven’t attended a Zoom session. 

Click here to book your place.

Check out the teaser video for Capturing Summer 2020 here that gives you a flavour of what the creators looking for and what this can be.