Wayne’s New Documentary To Receive Wakefield Music Festival Premiere

A new documentary, celebrating the story of Wakefield’s thriving music scene, will have its premiere at the town’s Long Division Festival this summer.

Award-winning Doncaster filmmaker and multi-media specialist Wayne Sables was commissioned by Upper Westgate Heritage Action Zone — the four year partnership between Historic England and Wakefield Council —to create Hidden Stories from Westgate Voices, the documentary about the way in which music became central to Wakefield Westgate’s successful regeneration.

The film will be screened at Long Division — the acclaimed metropolitan festival that places the best emerging grassroots artists alongside legends of Indie and DIY — on June 6.

And the film is also being submitted for screening at a host of international film festivals including Manchester Lift Off, the San Francisco Festival, London’s Doc’n Roll Festival, the Aesthetica Film Festival, Leeds Film Festival and the Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

“I am delighted that my first feature documentary is going to get its screening at Long Division", said Wayne.

“Before I came to this project I had absolutely no idea the Westgate music scene was so huge but it proved to be a fascinating story that needed to be told and I’ve been talking to everybody from musicians to backstage crew to access the full story of how this cultural hub has grown to be such a strong part of the fabric of Wakefield life.”

Wayne, who lives in Doncaster and is the founder of the award-winning Wayne Sables Project, worked alongside Sheffield-based photographer, cinematographer, and content producer Oliver Ibbotson to create the film.

“It feels absolutely right that a film about Wakefield and its great music scene should be seen there first but I am also very excited to think it should then be going on to the international circuit”, Wayne said.

“Our ultimate aim was to make a film that opened a window into Wakefield’s musical past and present, with a nod towards the future.

“Spanning different music genres, I believe we have created a visceral, emotional, engaging film that takes the viewer on a whistle stop tour of the greatness that is music in Wakefield.”

Hidden Stories from Westgate Voices is the latest in a critically acclaimed series of Yorkshire productions for Wayne.

He has worked with Cannon Hall in Barnsley, created a series of short documentaries across all Barnsley’s heritage sites and also been part of the team that created If These Walls Could Talk, an immersive sound and vision experience at South Yorkshire’s historic Wentworth Woodhouse.

In Rotherham he worked with the Children’s Capital of Culture team and a group of young producers to create a short film around the collections at Clifton Park Museums.

He also worked on a major projection mapping project that saw a series of digitally created animations projected onto Rotherham Minster and created a major installation for Doncaster Minster.

In Leeds and Wakefield, he has partnered with Dance Action Zone Leeds to create a series of films exploring the links between dance and health.