Pool appeal gets movie backing
VIDEO LIDO-lovers campaigning for the resurrection of Ipswich's Broomhill pool are today on the verge of a public relations coup after a documentary about their fight went before Channel 4 bosses.
LIDO-lovers campaigning for the resurrection of Ipswich's Broomhill pool are today on the verge of a public relations coup after a documentary about their fight went before Channel 4 bosses.
The five-minute documentary is in the running for airing on the channel if it wins the backing of visitors to its Four Docs documentary website.
The mini-documentary was the first film made by Ipswich independent filmmaker James Sharpe and members of the Broomhill pool trust hope it could help to spread the message about the campaign to re-open the pool.
Mark Ling, from the trust, said: “To have something like this film behind us really adds to the push that we've got for Broomhill.”
The documentary - titled The Pool - went on the website earlier this month. Visitors to the site can vote on which documentaries should be aired on Channel 4 by rating how much they liked them.
Mr Sharpe, 34, of Lombard Court, made the documentary shortly before the pool's closure in 2002.
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He said: “I've always been a fan of the pool. I thought the best thing I could do was to take all the footage I had and put it together in a documentary.
“If supporters take time to log in and favourably review The Pool then there is a good chance that Channel 4 will fully air the film on its terrestrial TV channel.
“This would help to further raise the profile of Broomhill pool and may attract further supporters and funding.”
A comment from the editor of the Four Docs website posted on the site said: “This is one of those short documentaries where the filmmaker has a message to send, but cleverly leads the viewer on with a simple but beguiling story until the moment is right to hit you with it.
“It is effective, well judged and well crafted. Let's hope the message gets to the right people and the pool can be saved.”
To view and rate The Pool on Four Docs, visit www.channel4.com/fourdocs
You can also view the documentary by visiting The Evening Star website at www.eveningstar.co.uk.
Ipswich Borough Council has committed £1million to the restoration of Broomhill pool, which is in north-west Ipswich, on the basis that a further £1million can be secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as further funds raised through public donations.
The pool opened in 1938.
