COVENTRY’S year as the UK City of Culture has officially launched with a George Eliot-inspired film, featuring new music by Coolie.
Timeless Words Made New fittingly premiered at 20.21 on Saturday night on the City of Culture website and social media channels.
Eliot’s words were set to a new track created for the film by Coolie – one of Coventry’s hottest talents and a pioneer of the booming music scene. Coolie is known for his work with other Coventry artists including Jay1.
The film – commissioned by Coventry UK City of Culture Trust and created by Uncommon Creative Studio and Untold Productions – takes the viewer on a journey of the city.
As George Elliot’s timeless words are projected onto Coventry’s iconic mid-Century cityscape, Coolie embarks on his personal tour of his city as it as it emerges from the challenges of the past year to be UK City of Culture, highlighting what it means to him.
Eliot’s observations on life and art are projected on the buildings – specifically selected for their relevance after a year where people have been isolated, communities challenged and young people particularly hard hit.
Quotes include:
“It is always fatal to have music or poetry interrupted.”
“It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.”
“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds”
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.”
Mary Ann Evans, writing under the pseudonym George Eliot so her work could be taken ‘more seriously’. Her acclaimed Middlemarch (1871) was said to be a fictionalised version of Victorian Coventry. She lived at Bird Grove House in her formative 20s in the 1840s and was schooled in the city.
Coolie’s music and the sound he has pioneered has received critical and commercial acclaim. With the profile of this movement and Coolie’s music now reaching a global wider audience, he is passionate about celebrating his roots and elevating the status of the city.
He said:“We used her quotes about music, poetry, determination, and resilience.
“They are as relevant today as they were back when she was writing in Victorian England, but we wanted to present them in a way that was more accessible for today – so I mixed them in a drill track, and we’re using the city as a canvas too for projections.”
Chenine Bhathena, City of Culture Trust creative director, said: “It marks the start of what will be an incredible year for Coventry and the re-start of our cultural lives.”
A major signature event – Coventry Moves – will take place on June 5, telling the story of the city’s pioneering past, present and future throughout the day.
Visit www.coventry2021.co.uk for more on the events taking place.
