The Big Melt by Martin Wallace and Jarvis Cocker

On 8^th January 2014, in collaboration with Sheffield Doc/Fest and BBC Storyville, the Curzon Chelsea will host a special preview screening of The Big Melt, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Martin Wallace and Jarvis Cocker, prior to its BBC Four Broadcast at end of January.

Jarvis Cocker said: “Just like Billy Casper told Jud he’d ‘never work down t’pit; I vowed never to get in all that ‘Sheffield: Steel City’ biz. But guess what? Looking at the BFI’s awesome collection of steel-related films changed my mind. I only hope that we can pay proper homage to the extraordinary individuals featured in this footage. Our aim is to melt faces (& hearts) -& to blow minds. With maybe a bit of smelting thrown in for good measure. The jesses are so off.”

The Big Melt combines 100 years of footage from the BFI National Archive with a score recorded live at the Crucible Theatre on the opening night of Sheffield Doc/Fest in June 2013 to tell the story of steel, the story of the men in the steelworks and the story of Sheffield.

Taking us on musical journey into the soul of a nation, The Big Melt brings to life the ghosts of our past, taking us into the belly of the furnaces and showing how our national character has been stamped from the mighty presses of our industrial heritage.

Featuring leading Sheffield musicians including Jarvis Cocker and Pulp band members, The City of Sheffield Brass Band, Richard Hawley and band members, The Forgemasters, a string quartet and a youth choir, the live soundtrack has been beautifully edited by Jarvis Cocker to create a phenomenal music score – a new kind of Sheffield heavy metal, with pictures.

Martin Wallace said: “We wanted to tell a story about steel that opened-out the basic social history and facts about the process itself. There are some awesome BFI archive films that already paint a vivid picture of the real story, so we wanted to drag this archive into the present, re-imagine and invigorate it, turn it into something more fantastical, more playful and, at the same time, more challenging”.

The editorial unit