29 November 2009

 S4C’s family film, Rhestr Nadolig Wil, has won the Drama category at this year’s BAFTA Children’s Awards.

The film beat off competition from CBBC’s The Sarah Jane Adventures among other programmes to scoop the award at a ceremony held in London onSunday 29 November.

It was a memorable night for S4C, as its dedicated service for younger children, Cyw, had been nominated for the Channel of the Year award.

Rhestr Nadolig Wil, produced by Boomerang, recently received a nomination for the international KidScreen awards to be staged in February 2010.

It is a fun-filled film which follows the adventures of an imaginative eight-year-old boy Wil (Aron Cynan) who meets Father Christmas (Iwan John) when his sledge lands on the family farm.

The film and music was co-written by musicians and composers Caryl Parry Jones and Christian Phillips, and directed by Dafydd Wyn. The cast features well-known actors Dewi ‘Pws’ Morris, John Ogwen, Ryland Teifi, Rhian Jones, Arwyn Davies and Beth Robert.

Rhian Gibson, S4C’s Director of Commissioning, said, "Rhestr Nadolig Wil is a film full of humour and imagination with a memorable script and music score. This prestigious award brings UK recognition of the Channel's excellence in the field of children's programming.

We congratulate all who were involved in the production on a memorable night for S4C."

Ends

Editor’s notes

• S4C has recently announced plans to extend its provision for the 7-early teens age group, with additional programming at the weekends. This new provision will be launched in Spring 2010.

• S4C has sold its children’s programmes to more than 100 countries worldwide.

• S4C is the second largest single investor in children’s programming in the UK after the BBC.

• S4C digidol is available free-to-air in Wales on Sky 104, Freeview 4, Virgin TV 194 and Freesat 104. Outside Wales, S4C digidol is available on Sky 134 and Freesat 120.