11 June 2010

  Siôn’s big day shortlisted at Europe’s biggest TV festival

An S4C programme featuring a five year old boy from Pentrefoelas, Conwy, North Wales has been nominated for a prize in the European entertainment industry’s most important festival – the Rose d’Or Global Television Festival 2010.

The programme about Siôn Pyrs, a farmer’s son from Pentrefoelas, was shown in the S4C series Y Diwrnod Mawr (The Big Day), a ground-breaking series for pre-school children. The series, part of S4C’s Cyw service and produced by Ceidiog Cyf, follows children on an important day in their lives.

The programme has been nominated in the children and youth category in the 50th Rose d’Or Festival to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland in September. A total of 110 programmes have been shortlisted out of over 500 entries from over 40 countries. It is the only programme from Wales to be shortlisted in this year’s Rose D’Or.

Siôn owns a lamb called John Parri and on his big day he takes the lamb to be sold at the Ruthin Livestock market.

It’s a successful day for Siôn and the lamb brings in a good price of £74. “I’m very happy with the price,” Siôn says. “I'm going to buy a tractor with it!”

Siôn's a really good young farmer and he loves telling jokes and playing the odd prank.

The programme follows Siôn in the weeks leading up to his big day. He introduces us to the farm animals - the cats and the dogs, the cows and the sheep and Bedwyr the pony. We see him working on the farm with his mum and dad Marian and Alun - rounding the sheep up and checking John Parri for ticks and disease. We also see him cracking a joke with the workers at the market. He also enjoys a lesson about Welsh princes at school and plays the role of Llywelyn as the children act out the story of Gelert.

Rhian Gibson, S4C’s Director of Commissioning, said, “This is the first time for small children to have a documentary series for themselves, about themselves. Getting a nomination in Europe’s most important TV festival is a tribute to the programme producers and to the S4C’s pre-school service.”

Series producer and director, Nia Ceidiog said, “I'm thrilled to be nominated in a special year for the Rose d'Or. The festival's fifty years old in 2010, and this is the very first time for children's programmes to be included in the award categories. Small children love seeing other children on screen. The series has been shot and edited the same way as we do any other documentary with the story told from each child's perspective and in their own words. The themes are emphasised by the use of colourful graphics and lively music to create a show that both entertains and educates - perfect for preschoolers!"

Y Diwrnod Mawr can be viewed on s4c.co.uk/clic and you can read more about the series on s4c.co.uk/cyw in the grown-ups section.

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