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

Press Release (International) - 17 Mai og Sakte TV i Liverpool / 17th May and Slow TV in Liverpool

BEGINS

17 Mai in Liverpool 2012 - Ann Giles

Like Norwegians everywhere, the Liverpool International Nordic Community (LiNC) will be celebrating 17 Mai - Norway’s national day. With the usual festivities, the celebrations will be including an exploration of a Norwegian TV phenomenon becoming more popular around the world.

LiNC is based at the Nordic church on Park Lane just off the city centre (and under 4 miles from Anfield and Goodison Park), 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. 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.

Tim Prevett interviewed on NRK2

This year, as usual the Nordic Church will gather at the memorial on the Pier Head on Liverpool’s famous Waterfront, followed by a parade to the church - and as typical of ‘17 Mai’, inclusive enjoyment of things Norwegian.

During the afternoon a 29 minute documentary about a style of television from Norway now called Slow TV - will be screened, with a short talk and questions and answers with its producer and director who has been researching the story of Sakte TV for the past year.

17 Mai 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 in Trondheim, 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

"That Damned Cow - Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?" at MIPTV 2015, Cannes

If you're attending Marché International des Programmes de Télévision (MIPTV) in Cannes between April 13th and 16th, check out the 29 minute documentary "That Damned Cow - Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?"  which will be shown on one of the screens in the Nordic Pavillion. This year, the International Market of TV Programmes is hosting a Focus on the Nordics - which of course includes the successful Norwegian Slow TV format.

"That Damned Cow" is the story of Norwegian Slow TV up to March 2015. Slow TV’s profile has grown since it emerged in Norway in 2009. NRK2, the second channel of the state broadcaster has been the pioneer in developing this real time marathon event broadcast format, taking surprise ratings at home and gaining global attention. Train journeys, a ferry voyage, knitting and singing a hymn book over sixty hours are some of the Slow TV subjects which NRK has shown.

“That Damned Cow”, subtitled “Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?” is a documentary which asks and explores exactly that. It sets out NRK’s narrative through interviews with key NRK staff in Bergen and Oslo, from inception to international distribution.

It explores the relaxing experience many Slow TV viewers cite, from interviews at the Norwegian Hymn Book Slow TV event, with a Doctor of Media Psychology and with British Airways which has begun using the Bergensbanen train journey on some long haul in-flight entertainment.

“That Damned Cow” considers the future of Slow TV inside and outside of Norway. It offers ways of understanding the depth and potential of what at first seems a simple formula but evokes a spectrum of participation in real life and social media, engages national pride, heritage, community and identity.

NARRATOR

Mark Brisbourne

INTERVIEWS

British Airways

Richard D’Cruze

DRG

Andrea Jackson

NRK

Fredrik Færden

Ole Hedemann

Thomas Hellum

Rune Møklebust

Anniken Næss

Spafax

Henry Gummer

Dr Arve Hjelseth

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim

Dr Espen Ytreberg

The University of Oslo

Dr Adam Galpin

The University of Salford

Choir Members, Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt

Randi Gunhildstad

Linda Haukås

Grateful Acknowledgement

Dr Pauline Prevett

Production Assistant (Oslo and Bergen)

Principal NRK Slow TV Liaison

Thomas Hellum

The University of Salford:

Laurence Murphy

Store and Technical Support Staff

Petter Ingholm Gustavsen, NRK

Stein Lillebo, Hurtigruten

Liz Southall

RedShift Radio, Crewe

NRK footage and graphics used with permission, copyright NRK

British Airways images

courtesy

British Airways Video Library

MUSIC

Principal Music

Tony Longworth

Ambient Music

Mark Sheeky

Additional Music

Purple Planet Music

Filmed in

Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim, Norway

Osmington Mills and London, England

Betws y Coed and Dyffryn Ogwen, Wales

Original Photography by

Tim Prevett

Produced and Directed by

Tim Prevett

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog