A NEW film celebrating Barnsley’s rich community spirit and culture will have its long-awaited premiere later next week.

Artist Sam Batley puts his hometown and its people in the spotlight in his “love letter to Barnsley,” titled The Town I Love So Well.

The Parkway Cinema on Eldon Street will host the debut screening on the evening of Monday, 17 March.

The Town I Love So Well offers an intimate exploration of Barnsley's rich heritage, capturing the essence of the town's spirit and the stories of its people.

The documentary makes up part of Sam Batley’s wider project, ‘A Barnsley Story’, which was commissioned and funded by Storying Barnsley, our Cultural Development Fund programme to encourage and celebrate the creativity in our town.

Sam’s photography is also featured in a collection of Storying Barnsley exhibitions which were launched on Friday 7 March and run until 11 April.

This also includes:

• Stunning portraits in the windows of the Library @ The Lightbox
• The chance to experience Calling Barnsley, a bespoke phone box where you can hear evocative stories recorded by Barnsley College students
• A taste of the new augmented ARtQuest for Barnsley, where you can discover mythical creatures with your smartphone.

Sam said: “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.

“I’m grateful to the council for funding this project through the Storying Barnsley programme and hope everyone will enjoy my tribute to our town’s heritage and culture.”

Cabinet spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, Cllr Robin Franklin, said: “We are proud to have been able to fund Sam Batley’s love letter to Barnsley through the Storying Barnsley programme, which has shown their ongoing commitment to supporting our thriving creative arts community.

“Storying Barnsley has uncovered so many fascinating untold stories and given hundreds of people across the borough the chance to get together and explore their artistic side.

“When it comes to arts and culture, Barnsley really is the place of possibilities.

“I’d encourage everyone to check out Sam’s new film and the rest of the fascinating Storying Barnsley exhibitions to get a fresh insight into life in the town we all love.”

You can see a short trailer of The Town I Love So Well on the Storying Barnsley website.

The premiere will take place at the Parkway Cinema from 6.30pm on Monday, 17 March, and will include a Q&A panel with Sam and his project collaborators after the film screening.

Limited tickets are available to book via the Eventbrite website.

Admission is free but donations to Parkway Cinema on the night are welcome.

Storying Barnsley is Barnsley Council's three-year Cultural Development Fund (CDF2) engagement programme, funded by Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport and administered by Arts Council England.

Storying Barnsley has been instrumental in fostering creativity and collaboration across the borough.

Throughout this three-year initiative, our project team has coordinated a diverse range of projects and activities designed to support artists and creative practitioners to develop their craft and provide unique cultural experiences for residents and visitors alike.

Captions: Photos show scenes from The Town I Love So Well.

Note to editors

High-resolution versions of these images are available on request.