02 April 2014

 Two productions for S4C, a film about poet Gerallt Lloyd Owen and a documentary for young people, have received awards on the first day of the 2014 Celtic Media Festival.

The film Gerallt, by Cwmni Da, won in the Arts category, and the series #FI by Boom Plant (part of Boom Pictures Cymru) won in the Childrens category.

Gerallt is an honest and revealing film about the poet Gerallt Lloyd Owen, which gives an insight into the private and enigmatic character who has written some of the most famous poems in the Welsh language.

The film's director, Guto Williams, said, "I feel that the film contains some very important themes, and it was an honour to be able to make it. Gerallt has since retreated from public life and it was an honour to be able to document him in the first place. He is a man who lives for his poetry, and we felt that this film is an important document which had to be made."

#FI is a series which gives young people the chance to share stories about their lives and issues which affect them. The nominated programme dealt with a loss of a parent, and was presented by Lois Cernyw.

Series producer Rachel Evans said, "Documentary is not an exclusive genre for adults. Children have a desire to hear their own stories, told by themselves, and they are brave and capable enough to deal with difficult subjects. The four who spoke to us in the film had each lost a parent, which is a difficult enough experience without having to share it with the viewers. They showed great bravery and commitment as they told their stories in their own way."

Dafydd Rhys, S4C Head of Content said, "Congratulations to Gerallt and everyone on the production team in Cwmni Da. Congratulations also to everyone at Boom Plant for the production #FI. Two competitive categories and two very different awards on the opening day of the Celtic Media Festival. It's proof of the quality programming which is commissioned by S4C and a confirmation of the production talent we have in Wales."

The annual festival is being held in St Ives, Cornwall this year on 2-4 April. In a special edition of Heno on S4C Monday night, 7 April 7.00, Aneirin Karadog and Gwenno Saunders will present a look at the events of the festival which celebrates the best of broadcasting, on TV and radio, in the Celtic nations – Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, Brittany, Isle of Man and Scotland.

Ends