Northern Film + Media joined forces with Generator to produce ‘Space Invasion’ – of one of the UK’s most ambitious projects in the Arts Council England/BBC online arts initiative, The Space.

Space Invasion showcased and enabled creative collaborations in unique venues across the North East. All works were uploaded to The Space platform and the project culminated in a special event ‘Space Invasion’ at The Sage Gateshead, featuring performances from Ghostpoet and Raj Pannu, plus special screenings of works featuring SBTRKT, Lanterns on the Lake, Novak Collective and Paul Smith (Maximo Park).

Space Invasion strands included:

Transmission

Generator and Northern Film + Media teamed up with SBTRKT, Young Turks and XL Recordings to commission a music video for track ‘Trials of the Past’. The collaboration has produced only the third official video for the pioneering electronic artist and producer who released his debut album last year to critical acclaim and has remixed acts such as M.I.A, Modeselektor, Radiohead and Basement Jaxx.

Pallion

Newcastle-based Lanterns on the Lake and visual artists Novak Collective were jointly commissioned to create an audio and visual response to ghost ship the TSS Manxman (1955-2012), currently based at the Pallion Shipyard in Sunderland. ‘Pallion’ tells the story of the historic vessel and once thriving shipbuilding yard.

Poetic License

Filmed in Newcastle’s ancient Morden Tower, Poetic Licence saw Maximo Park lead singer Paul Smith perform an interpretation of poet Lavinia Greenlaw’s ‘Essex Kiss’, taken from her highly-acclaimed collection ‘The Casual Perfect’.

The Old Grey Whistle Twist

Raj Pannu (Coldcut &Ninjatune), created a unique DJ and VJ experience featuring classic Old Grey Whistle Test performances that was showcased at the final event.