Press Release (UK) - 17th May and Slow TV - Norway's Constitution Day Celebrations in Liverpool

BEGINS

17 Mai Liverpool 2012 - Ann Giles

The Liverpool International Nordic Community (LiNC) will be celebrating Norway’s national day on May 17th including an exploration of a Norwegian phenomenon soon coming to UK TV screens. You just might have heard of Slow TV, which the BBC will be showing on BBC4 during the General Election week.

LiNC is based at the Nordic church on Park Lane just off the city centre. Built in 1884 it caters for all Nordic nations, ex pats, visitors, descendants and friends, acting not only as a place of worship but as a cultural centre. Norway’s Constitution Day is celebrated with festivities, parades and flag waving by Norwegians around the world, including in Liverpool. This year, as usual, the Nordic Church will gather at the memorial on the Pier Head followed by the parade to the church - and as typical of ‘17 Mai’, inclusive enjoyment of things Norwegian.

Tim Prevett interviewed on NRK2

Then during the afternoon a 29 minute documentary about the style of television documentary from Norway - now called Slow TV - will be screened with a short talk and questions from its producer and director. You may have heard of 7 hours of the train journey shown on Norway’s second TV channel? Maybe the 12 hours of knitting? Perhaps even the 5 days continual broadcast on NRK2 (the equivalent of BBC2) of a coastal voyage which drew in more than half of the country’s population.

17 Mai in Liverpool 2012 - Ann Giles

“That Damned Cow - Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?” explores the genre’s story interviewing producers, participants and distributors of some of the best known shows with interviews in Oslo and Bergen. Filming behind the scenes at the last Slow TV event in Norway, the documentary maker, Tim Prevett was interviewed live on national TV and also by BBC Radio Stoke about his film making.

Tim comments “What sets Slow TV apart from other kinds of TV is that it is more relaxing and when done in a way which allows public participation a kind of magic happens where people bring their own content to a broadcast. Slow TV is about a journey or activity being celebrated in the time it actually takes to do it. Not with bits cut out or sped up. That’s what makes it ‘slow’. With BBC4 Goes Slow in early May in the week of a General Election and an American Slow TV production in November on ‘Black Friday’, this sort of telly is about to get a lot more attention. With Slow TV recognised as a Norwegian cultural export I’m delighted in celebrating Norway with a screening of it at the Nordic Church in Liverpool for Syttende Mai”.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

17 Mai Liverpool 2012 - Ann Giles

The event in Liverpool starts at 1pm with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Norwegian memorial plaque at the Pier Head, followed by a parade to the church where refreshments will be served. Some people choose to await the parade at the church. Then at 2:30pm approximate there will be a short talk and screening of “That Damned Cow - Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?” - estimated finishing time 3:30pm. Should it be necessary a second screening will be at 3:45pm.

A Facebook event page for the Liverpool 17 Mai Celebrations is here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1421631498144561

Photographers / media will be welcome at the Pier Head, during the parade or at the church upon the parade’s arrival there.

CONTACTS:

Stan Royden stan.royden@hotmail.co.uk Nordic Church and Cultural Centre

http://nordicliverpool.co.uk/, 138 Park Lane, Liverpool L1 8HG, (+44) (0) 151 709 7763

Tim Prevett (Director / Producer) TimPrevett@gmail.com (+44) (0) 7905 597 242

A trailer for the documentary can be viewed and linked to here, or with code for embedding here: https://vimeo.com/121139134

MEDIA ATTACHMENTS:

That Damned Cow

Three pictures from Liverpool 17 Mai parade in 2012 by Ann Giles - please retain watermark or credit if used

A screenshot from the documentary title

A screenshot from Tim Prevett’s interview on NRK2 last December, with permission from NRK

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog