We have received the following email ...


Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Ellie Wake and I am writing to let you know about a community film project I have set up that I think The United Cavers Exploration Team will be interested in.

This November I will be directing a film called ‘Under the Music Hall’ in one of Nottingham’s underground caves, based under the Malt Cross Café bar in Nottingham’s city centre. The Malt Cross is an old Victorian Music Hall, one of the best preserved in the country, and the film focuses on the history of the building and the cave which lies beneath it. The story follows a local girl who investigates the cave and encounters characters from its history. The main periods addressed will be, the time of the Carmelite Monks, The Victorian Music Hall era, and the bombing of Nottingham during WWII in 1941. Our aims with this film are to both raise awareness of Nottingham’s underground cave system, as well as sharing some of its rich heritage through the historical stories portrayed.

The film is also to run alongside a community project which will work directly with the public to collect their experiences of Nottingham’s caves, as well as collecting stories from the past to be compiled as resources to the users of the website. We aim to work with local historians and other volunteers to do this. Our objective with this side of the project is to not only present a useful source of information, but also to provide a means through which locals and visitors can share their experiences with a wider audience, whilst developing a much closer level of personal involvement and interaction with the wide array of historical subject matter involved.

We are contacting you now as we want to let you know more about the project, as well as how The United Cavers Exploration Team can both get involved in potentially helping us with our promotional endeavours. We would also love to hear from you about how we can contribute towards your own community or group through our project, such as offering information or talks on the content and progress of the projects.

We are currently raising funds to help with the community project and the production of the film, which will start toward the end of November. We have had significant interest in both sides of the project and our online campaign is going well, but as the deadline for this is on 17th of November, we need as much support from the public and groups of interest with getting the word out. Contributors to the funding campaign can donate as little as £1, and for each donation we have a variety of exciting behind the scenes incentives and rewards on offer, from a digital film workshop to a chance to be on set!

We really believe that the film and community project will be valuable work that will help to preserve and promote the heritage of Nottingham city as well as to those interested in the variety of topics which are covered by the film and the heritage website. We don’t view Under the Music Hall as a short-term project, but rather a valuable social and historical asset that will provide both a focal point and a sense of longevity to all of those interested in Nottingham’s amazing history, no matter how in-depth their levels of interest.

There are many ways that you could help move the project forward. You could:

• Help spread the word through your community via an online article or in your publication or newsletter.

• Visit or share this link to our online funding campaign: www.indiegogo.com/projects/under-the-music-hall--2

• Word of mouth – Telling people you think might be interested about the project does wonders!

• By following us on Twitter: @MusicHallMovie

• Or liking us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/underthemusichall?fref=ts or by searching ‘Under the Music Hall’

• By donating to our funding campaign or asking people you know that would find the project interesting, to do so.

I have attached a copy of our recent Press Release that will tell you a lot more and also includes some pictures from parts of the film we have already shot this May. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or to provide more information to you.
We have a fair way to go with the funding campaign but we really believe that with a little more coverage we can do it. So please, if you or anyone you know may be interested we would love to hear from you. Each donation really does mean a lot to all of those working on Under the Music Hall, and with your help we look forward to bringing this project to life.

Thank you very much for your time,

Ellie Wake

Writer/Director

(For More Information)
Ellie Wake
+44 (0) 7857143564

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Filmmaker To Produce Short Film About Malt Cross Caves

NOTTINGHAM, UK – 17th October 2014. A Nottingham Filmmaker is collaborating with the Malt Cross Historical Music Hall to produce a short film to run parallel to their Heritage funded refurbishment.

“Under the Music Hall”, written and directed by Ellie Wake, is a historical fantasy-based drama set in the cave under the Malt Cross and within the historical buildings that lay under the café bar.

The short film tells the story of a local Nottingham girl called Annie who is invited into the cave by a documentary film crew. When she is there, as well as the beauty of the cave, she discovers its history when she is visited by characters from the past.

The film will address three prominent time periods, being:
• The time of the Carmelite monks who built the cave
• The Victorian Music Hall Era
• The bombing of Nottingham in World War Two, on 8th May 1941

The film – to be shot on location in Nottingham in October 2014 – aims to tell real stories of the cave and Nottingham’s history, showing the importance that the cities many famous caves have to the town and its residents. We also view the transformation of the cave and the neglected rooms of the Music Hall as they are transformed by the upcoming renovation.

The filmmakers are currently in pre-production and are seeking to raise the funds needed to shoot the film through crowd funding website IndieGoGo. Attainment of the finances needed will help to bring the film – and the history of the caves – to life.

The short film aims to play an important role in raising the profile and awareness of Nottingham as a city which featuring cave in abundance, both locally and nationally by portraying an interesting and authentic narrative tale. The filmmakers are also spreading awareness of the film by involving members of the local community in research and archive projects based around the film and other caves in Nottingham.

Contact:
Ellie Wake (Writer/Director) – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lauren Parker (Associate Producer) – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Links: IndieGoGo campaign page: www.indiegogo.com/projects/under-the-music-hall--2
Official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/underthemusichall
Twitter: @MuiscHallMovie





The filmmakers are aiming to create a short film which:

•Emphasises the importance of the Malt Cross cave in tying with historical events throughout history and especially those having occurred in Nottingham

• Acts as both a narrative story and a trailer for the caves renovation and the restoration of similar caves in Nottingham

• Shows the cave as it was used originally, as they stand in present day before any renovation work and the cave and the rooms above after the renovation work takes place.

• Shows the transition of the cave as coming ‘back to life’ once the renovation work has taken place and becoming a useful and importance space as it once was.

• Focuses on the idea that the caves and the rooms below are something ‘special’ and that it is a very positive thing that they will no longer remain hidden and unused by the public

After "Under the Music Hall" has been completed, it is hoped that it will be screened as widely as possible within the local community and at film festivals both in the UK and internationally.

i got the same email which is obviously a 'mail shot' but i guess theres no harm in people knowing about it.

Maybe worth emailing back explaining that as they where excavated by hand and not formed by natural forces that theu are mines