Over eighty people attended the premiere of the ground-breaking Project Florence film this month. Created by Wessex Archaeology and Salisbury Arts Centre, Operation Nightingale: Time Warriors follows the progress of the Operation Nightingale dig on Barrow Clump. It features interviews with the soldiers and archaeologists as well as footage of the excavation itself.
The 25-minute film was created by a group of 14-18 year old volunteers from Salisbury as part of the Make a Movie project. Trained by professional filmmakers from Salisbury Arts Centre, the young people learnt how to film and edit footage, and were able to have a say in the direction and content of the documentary. The budding filmmakers have also achieved their Bronze Arts Awards.
The premiere was the culmination of a nine month partnership project between Wessex Archaeology, the Salisbury Arts Centre, The Rifles and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The Make a Movie project was a key part of Project Florence, a Heritage Lottery Funded initiative, which has been running alongside Operation Nightingale to make the archaeology accessible to the public.
The documentary will be available to upload shortly from the Wessex Archaeology website. Free copies of the DVD can be requested by contacting Laura Joyner, Wessex Archaeology, on 01722 326867 or at l.joyner@wessexarch.co.uk.
Find out more about Project Florence by clicking here.