Museum Documentary Film – The Making of The Faith Museum, Bishop Auckland

This museum documentary film follows the creation of The Faith Museum at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, a ground-breaking institution dedicated to 6,000 years of faith in Britain. Commissioned by The Auckland Project, the film documents the entire process—from early concept development through to design, construction, curatorial decisions, and the powerful moment when visitors first walk through the galleries.

The Faith Museum is the first museum in the UK solely dedicated to the subject of faith. Housed partly within the historic Scotland Wing of Auckland Castle and partly in a newly built sandstone extension, the museum combines ancient architecture with bold contemporary design. This film captures the thoughtful ways belief is represented through object, space, and experience.

What sets this museum documentary film apart is its commitment to letting the people behind the project speak for themselves. The film features interviews with curators, architects, artists, archaeologists, and volunteers, each offering insight into what faith means to them, and how it has shaped the physical and emotional design of the museum.

Visitors are encouraged to reflect on three guiding questions:
– Am I alone?
– How do I live?
– Where do I belong?

These questions run through the narrative of the museum, appearing subtly in interpretive design and more explicitly in Gallery Four, where contemporary artists have responded with new commissions. The result is a space that balances curation and contemplation. This museum documentary film captures the unfolding of that atmosphere, showing how carefully chosen objects and personal perspectives create something much larger than a traditional exhibition.

The new extension was designed using Cork Crag sandstone quarried from Otterburn in Northumberland. With natural variation and tonal shifts, the stone gives the building a timeless quality. The architecture borrows from sacred forms around the world, incorporating crossed gables seen in religious structures from Japan to Ireland. The filmmakers were granted access to document these choices as they developed, allowing the audience to see how architecture and meaning are tightly woven together.

Filming was done using a Panasonic GH6 and iPhone 15 Pro, with additional support from the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which allowed for smooth, wide shots and “fake drone” perspectives in tight, enclosed environments filled with valuable objects and installation teams. The camera was kept discreet and observational to preserve the reflective tone of the museum spaces. Audio was recorded using a mix of directional and lavalier microphones to blend interviews with the quiet sounds of object handling, gallery ambience, and soft footfall.

Approximately two-thirds of the museum’s objects come through generous loans from institutions including the British Museum, the V&A, and National Museums Scotland and Wales. Others were discovered locally through archaeology or acquired at auction. As the film reveals, it is not about religious artefacts alone, but about “witness objects”—items that reveal something about the faith of the people who made or used them.

In its final stages, the film follows the installation process: cases being built, objects placed and lit, volunteers invited in, and public responses unfolding in real time. There is no final thesis, just an invitation to reflect. This museum documentary film leaves space for uncertainty, doubt, and personal meaning—mirroring the purpose of the museum itself.

The Faith Museum stands as a new landmark in the cultural landscape of County Durham. It joins The Spanish Gallery, The Mining Art Gallery, and the revitalised Castle as part of a growing hub of creative, historical, and spiritual storytelling in Bishop Auckland.

🎥 Filmed and edited by Alan Fentiman
🎬 Cameras: Panasonic GH6, DJI Osmo Pocket 3, iPhone 15 Pro
🎤 Sound: DJI Mic 2
📍 Location: Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
🎟️ More: https://aucklandproject.org/attractio...
🎥 Explore more of Alan’s heritage and arts films