18 November 2014

The documentary about the brave twin sisters from Llanelli has won an award for Best On-screen Representation of Disability in the Creative Diversity Network Awards (CDN).

The documentary Fy Chwaer a Fi tells the story of 18 year old twin sisters Catherine and Kirsty Fields from the Llanelli area who suffer from a rare neurological condition.

They are the only people in the world who have this condition, which has paralysed them and robbed them of their speech.

The documentary, produced by Bulb Film, part of Boom Pictures Cymru and first broadcast on S4C in 2012, gave them the opportunity to tell their own story for the first time, using new electronics communication technology.

Llion Iwan, S4C's Factual Comissioner, "We are proud of the award, which recognises a story that opened a door to an illness which the individuals and their families face quietly behind closed doors."

Along with the CDN Award, the programme has also won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award and triumphed at the New York Festivals Awards.

Director Mei Williams said, "It was a huge honour for me to receive this award on behalf of Kristie and Catherine Fields. The purpose of this programme was to raise awareness about the lives of disabled people, and the film has certainly suceeded in doing that all over the world. In an age when commercial programmes dominate the media, it's with a sense of pride that I can say that we in Wales and that S4C as a broadcaster value stories that are important to society."

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