15 February 2012
Five short films that will be broadcast on S4C later this year have had their premières at Ffresh - the Student Moving Image Festival of Wales.
The premiere of the five short community films was held at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre as part of the successful three-day student film festival held recently in the city.
The five short films will be broadcast as part of the S4C new schedule, to be launched on 1 March. They will be shown under the Channel’s ‘Calon’ (translation: Heart) strand of short films about people and communities.
The five film ideas were chosen by a panel representing both Ffresh and S4C after receiving scores of entries for the competition. All five entries were given £400 funding to help develop their idea, with an S4C broadcast as a major incentive.
The films - Y Bobol yw’r Eglwys (The people are the Church), Tawel Môr (Quiet Sea), Eryri Fer Ffilm, Creithiau (Scars) and 4C - vary a great deal in style and content, but all reflect contemporary Wales through the eyes of young filmmakers.
James Nee, Ffresh Festival Director said: “Ffresh was delighted to work with S4C to give five young filmmakers the opportunity to reflect contemporary Wales and celebrate its many different communities. All of the filmmakers should feel very proud of the excellent work they’ve created, which clearly highlights the wealth of new talent within Wales. We hope this is just the beginning of their relationship with S4C and that they’ll go onto future collaborations and continue to fuel the broadcaster with exciting and original ideas that will resonate with audiences and demonstrate what is universal and what is unique about living in modern Wales.”
Geraint Rowlands, S4C’s Interim Director of Commissioning added, “We are delighted to work with Ffresh on the Short Community Film project. It has been a great opportunity to discover and cultivate new talent for the future and we hope that this is a start of a long relationship with these talented writers and filmmakers. S4C is committed to commissioning and broadcasting films and programmes which will challenge our viewers, as well as entertain and inform, and these films will certainly make people think.”
The film Y Bobol yw’r Eglwys (The people are the Church), both challenges and celebrates modern Welsh cultural life. Directed by Catrin Doyle, with Anne Siegel and Stephen Hanks as Directors of Photography, it depicts young people congregating in front of a former chapel which is now a pub.
Tawel Môr (Quiet Sea), directed and filmed by Rhiannon Tate and co-produced by Rhiannon Tate and Eleri Griffiths, was shot at Whitesands beach, Pembrokeshire and looks at the relationship between the landscape, the sea and the people who live in coastal areas.
Eryri Fer Ffilm, directed and written by Victoria Louise Fellows and narrated by Sera Lousie Wilkins, visits areas of Snowdonia which have featured in films and programmes.
Creithiau (Scars) is a poetic and visually striking look at the industrial history of the Souh Wales valleys. It was directed by Chris McGaughey, who was also the co producer and joint Director of Photography with Robert Godwin. It was written and narrated by Nicholas McGaughey.
The short film 4C portrays Emyr, a young man out of work and out of luck, whose outlook on life changes with the death of his alcoholic, hoarding grandfather. The cast are Emyr Wyn Jones, Cari Barley and Tom Mumford. It was written, directed and produced by Richard Starkey and Christian Britten, with Josh Bennett as Director of Photography.
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