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So this was on last night. a 70 minute documentary primarily about Manchester's new 'cultural venue' Factory International; a huge arts/performance space that cost £240 MILLION to build. No wonder they now have sponsorship from Aviva Insurance (formerly Norwich Union) to offset the costs.

Of course they jump into the history of Manchester - going back to the cotton mill years and then to the closure of Manchester's factories in the '70s around the time that The Factory Club was opening.

So I think the Factory International name was influenced more by the pre- Factory club/records era of Manchester (International = connection to the US for cotton on a riverside site) than by our beloved Factory. But nonetheless there's still an influence - including a direct one with Ben Kelly involved in some of the foyer design (a nod to the OMD 1980 album sleeve and Hacienda stripes).

It was nice to see some of Danny Boyle's Free Your Mind play/dance/whatever-it-was reinterpretation of The Matrix. He certainly helped to create something BIG for the BIG space offered by the venue. And we do get some Blue Monday in the production - which I didn't know about.
The loom cards get a mention, so Danny Boyle links the old machines of Manchester to the Matrix. Saville also referred to loom cards in his design for the recent Chanel "record sleeve" invitations.
Whether the venue wil be able to continue to justify its cost, size and existence over time remains to be seen. As Maxine Peake said, "we don't want it to be just another receiving venue for touring bands".

Anyway we did get some NO and JD in the programme. As well as the above mentioned BM, we got Ceremony, Transmission, Colony, LWTUA and Atmosphere.
No interviews with NO, although the "thanks" in the closing credits included Bernard Sumner.

1hr,10mins felt a little long. I reckon it could have been more engaging if it was cut down to about 45 or 50 minutes, and despite being called Factory International, it may not have huge appeal outside of UK/Manchester viewers.