2019 is the Year of Discovery, led by Visit Wales. Think adventure, culture, landscape and memorable experiences. Think cinema.
Film Hub Wales (FHW), with Chapter as Hub Lead Organisation, are working with Welsh venues to celebrate what makes Wales unique and to take audiences on a cinematic journey of discovery.
Throughout 2019, audiences can connect with Welsh culture and landscapes, from the sweeping hills of 19th Century Snowdonia, in new release ‘Gwen,’ to an enhanced E-book on the history of Wales on screen. They’ll also get a chance to see some discovery themed favourites from Film Hub Wales’ specially curated programme pack
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager or Film Hub Wales explains:
“Visit Wales’ themes of discovery, from journeys to adventure, culture and landscape lend themselves to the visual power and imagination of film. There are boundless possibilities for audiences to experience something new, whether they are discovering their local cinema for the first time, or re-connecting.
From film screenings at the congress of Celtic studies, to a tour of new Welsh release Gwen, which is bursting with vivid Welsh landscapes, we’ll be celebrating many of things that make Wales unique on screen.”
Philip Hoile, Head of Distribution, Bulldog Film Distribution added:
“We’re proud to have Gwen included in Year of Discovery. It’s a film showcasing the stark and stunning Snowdonian landscapes within its rich gothic atmosphere as well as presenting the story of a young girl during a complicated part of Welsh history that is ripe for discussion. We hope that many people will discover this fantastic film in Welsh cinemas across the rest of the year.”
The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, using funds from the National Lottery to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK.
South Wales
September 2019 – April 2020
Through their Global-Rural project, WOW are exploring the impact of globalisation on rural societies along The Coastal Way[1]. They will be bringing Welsh made shorts, animations and archive films to audiences in rural West Wales.
Their world and Independent cinema programme for rural audiences will support local adults and young people with learning disabilities, in addition to refugee families, people living in rural/farming communities and Welsh speaking communities. WOW work with a diverse range of community groups as part of a strategy to reach rural audiences and offer meeting ground for different groups to experience and discuss a variety of world cinema. The project aims to encourage debate and inspire communities by bringing rural audiences together to tackle isolation, foster common understanding and social cohesion.
wowfilmfestival.com/en/events
twitter.com/wowfilm
facebook.com/WOWfilmfest/
12th September
Ray and Liz, the debut film from award winning, Swansea based, photographer Richard Billingham, and Welsh Producer Jacqui Davies, will be screened at Pontardawe Arts Centre, in conversation with the filmmakers. Autobiographic in nature, Billingham, returns to the striking photographs of his family during Thatcher-era Britain and his upbringing on the outskirts of Birmingham.
npttheatres.co.uk/pontardawe/
facebook.com/PontardaweArtsCentre/
North Wales
May 2019 – April 2020
Welcoming isolated audiences in to venues across the The North Wales Way throughout 2019, seven ‘Off Y Grid’ cinemas will celebrate Wales’ ancient language and landscapes.
Newly released Welsh folk tale, Gwen, set during the industrial revolution, will screen alongside a series of Welsh short films at the International Congress of Celtic Studies at Bangor University, Wales, on 22–26 July 2019. The conference represents an international gathering of scholars researching the languages, literatures and cultural traditions of the Celtic-speaking peoples, held once every four years. Newly released Welsh period film Last Summer is also currently screening in a number of venues.
From the slate mountains of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the beaches of Rhyl, Cell B and Wicked Wales will be reconnecting family audiences with well-known Welsh made programmes such as Superted and Gelert, including a collaborative ‘Films in the Forest’ event in October. New audiences will also discover cinema as Off Y Grid pops-up in unusual spaces and places.
Established in 2016. Off Y Grid (OYG) is a partnership between seven venues in North Wales who are working collectively to promote British independent and international film, including home-grown Welsh content. The project is designed to reduce rural isolation through affordable, connected events, generating anticipation around film releases in North Wales. Off Y Grid venues include Galeri, Caernarfon; Pontio, Bangor; CELLB, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Neuadd Dwyfor in Pwllheli, Dragon Theatre in Barmouth, TAPE in Old Colwyn and Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda.
twitter.com/offygrid
facebook.com/offygrid
Promotional trailer: https://vimeo.com/223606421
June 2019-December 2019
TAPE will launch their first inclusion film festival in old Colwyn during 2019, combining the beauty of the North Wales way with local filmmaking culture, for visitors. The event will support new voices from across communities and incorporate signposting towards training and employment across North Wales. This includes the premiere of Paul & the Undersea Critters, a debut live action, animated, short from local Welsh animator Shane Howard.
TAPE will also celebrate some of North Wales’ historic architecture, with special pop-up screenings including a Chapel of Horror weekend at Conwy Chapel and a series of screenings at their Gaol Cell Cinema in Ruthin, in partnership with the Denbighshire Archive Service.
TAPE is a community arts charity which specialises in bespoke, inclusive, person-led support for people of all ages. Since 2008, TAPE’s work has helped significant numbers of people to move out of isolated circumstances, find friends, build confidence and skills, move off benefits, enter further and higher education and training, and find employment.
tapemusicandfilm.co.uk/
twitter.com/tapeartscentre
acebook.com/TAPECommunityMusicandFilm
West
19th – 24th November 2019
| As the only UK representatives in the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation and a firm favourite on Wales’ cultural calendar, Abertoir attracts tourists from across the UK to the West coast of Wales each November. Audiences can engage with talks, guests, film with live commentary, educational presentations, Q&As with filmmakers, specially written articles, discussions, classic screenings and a selection of the newest films from major film festivals worldwide – all screening in Wales for the very first time, against the picturesque coastal landscape of Aberystwyth.
Highlights to look out for include a masterclass in practical special effects, in-depth career interviews with directors Norman J Warren and Gary Sherman, and a celebration of British actor Donald Pleasence in his centenary year. abertoir.co.uk/
|
Across Wales
July – October 2019
In celebration of the release of Welsh folk tale, Gwen, which is full of brooding Welsh landscapes during the industrial revolution, we will be offering specially commissioned programme notes by poet and cultural critic Ben Gwalchmai. 16 venues across Wales will screen the film from July onwards. Topics will cover Welsh culture ancient and new; Cumbric & Cymraeg, contemporary tenant farmers, rewilding and the changing colours of the quarries and mountains. Screenings in Wales include:
Further screenings to be announced.
www.gwenfilm.com
January – March 2020
In partnership with The Welsh Books Council / Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru and Thud Media, NSSAW will create ‘Picturing Our Past / Fframio’n Gorffennol’, an enhanced e-book enabling audiences to discover the history of Wales on screen. Celebrating both culture and landscapes, it will be launched alongside a series of special screenings, celebrating Welsh heritage throughout Wales, linking recent Welsh releases to important Welsh films of the past. Pivotal films such as ‘Y Chwarelwr’ and ‘Un Bore Mercher’ will explore Wales’ ancient language and community on screen, alongside archive film treasures recently unearthed through the BFI’s Unlocking Film Heritage project.
library.wales/
twitter.com/NSSAW
June 2019 – March 2020
Working with partners across the Welsh screen industry, FHW will develop a catalogue of short films Made in Wales, which will complement the existing catalogue of over 130 features. As this will be the first catalogue of its kind, the project will improve access for exhibitors to Welsh talent and make it easier to celebrate shorts filmmaking Made in Wales and enable audiences to discover Welsh culture, language and landscapes through short filmmaking. The project will be searchable upon launch of the Hub’s new website in 2019.
filmhubwales.org/films/made-wales
July – November 2019
“Revisiting the past to understand the present and contribute to future local awareness. “
Phoenix Ton Pentre are developing local audiences for Welsh stories on screen, exploring the sweeping summer landscapes of Pembrokeshire through Jon Jones’ new release Last Summer and revisiting the urban streets of Swansea in cult classic, Twin Town. Films will be screened with archive shorts, connecting landscape to memories of Welsh heritage through the ages.
facebook.com/The-Phoenix-Ton-Pentre
Further projects will be announced during 2019. Please note that films are subject to change.
For images please copy and paste the following link into your browser:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YvOGdfNhcgy_6NTbccQC9mfD0B1WseJd?usp=sharing
For more information, or tickets to events, please contact:
Megan David, Marketing Officer, on 02920 311 067 / megan@filmhubwales.org (part time Tues-Thurs),
Lisa Nesbitt, Development Officer, on 02920 311 067 / lisa@filmhubwales.org,
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager, on 02920 353 740 hana@filmhubwales.org,
NOTES TO EDITORS:
ABOUT FILM HUB WALES:
Film Hub Wales aims to bring more films, to more people, in more places around Wales. Along with its independent member venues, FHW regularly develops inventive ways for people in Wales to go to the cinema.
Film Hub Wales (FHW) is one of eight UK wide ‘hubs’ funded by the BFI (British Film Institute) to form the Film Audience Network (FAN), with Chapter appointed as the Film Hub Lead Organisation (FHLO) in Wales. We aim to develop the exhibition sector through dedicated research, training and audience development project support. Since Film Hub Wales set up in 2013, we’ve supported over 195 exciting cinema projects, reaching over 420,000 audience members.
In partnership with our member cinemas, arts centres, community venues, societies, festivals and wider film practitioners, FHW aims to celebrate and support the vibrant cultural film sector here in Wales, working together to expand and increase choice for audiences, regardless of where they live.
filmhubwales.org
twitter.com/FilmHubWales
facebook.com/filmhubwales
ABOUT THE BFI
The BFI is the lead body for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
The BFI is a Government arm’s-length body and distributor of Lottery funds for film. The BFI serves a public role which covers the cultural, creative and economic aspects of film in the UK. It delivers this role:
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Josh Berger CBE.
Film Hub Wales is a lead film hub partner in the BFI Film Audience Network.
The BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) is a ground-breaking initiative that gives audiences across the UK the opportunity to see a broader range of films in a cinema setting. For filmmakers, getting films onto cinema screens is a highly competitive business, particularly for specialised films which includes archive, documentary, independent and foreign language films.
With £12 million of Lottery funding over four years (2018-22) the BFI FAN works with cinema exhibitors, film festivals, educators, film societies, community venues, film archives and other organisations in their regions or nations to boost audiences for film across the UK.
The film hub partners which drive audience engagement across the UK comprise: Broadway Cinema, Nottingham with Flatpack, Birmingham; Chapter, Cardiff;; Film London; Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast; Glasgow Film; the Independent Cinema Office (for the South East); Showroom Sheffield in partnership with HOME, Manchester & Tyneside Cinema; and Watershed, Bristol.
The Wales Way is a new family of three national routes that lead you into the heart of real Wales:
[1] See end notes for definition of Visit Wales’ The Wales Way.
2019 is the Year of Discovery, led by Visit Wales. Think adventure, culture, landscape and memorable experiences. Think cinema.
Film Hub Wales (FHW), with Chapter as Hub Lead Organisation, are working with Welsh venues to celebrate what makes Wales unique and to take audiences on a cinematic journey of discovery.
Throughout 2019, audiences can connect with Welsh culture and landscapes, from the sweeping hills of 19th Century Snowdonia, in new release ‘Gwen,’ to an enhanced E-book on the history of Wales on screen. They’ll also get a chance to see some discovery themed favourites from Film Hub Wales’ specially curated programme pack
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager or Film Hub Wales explains:
Visit Wales’ themes of discovery, from journeys to adventure, culture and landscape lend themselves to the visual power and imagination of film. There are boundless possibilities for audiences to experience something new, whether they are discovering their local cinema for the first time, or re-connecting.
From film screenings at the congress of Celtic studies, to a tour of new Welsh release Gwen, which is bursting with vivid Welsh landscapes, we’ll be celebrating many of things that make Wales unique on screen.
Philip Hoile, Head of Distribution, Bulldog Film Distribution added:
“We’re proud to have Gwen included in Year of Discovery. It’s a film showcasing the stark and stunning Snowdonian landscapes within its rich gothic atmosphere as well as presenting the story of a young girl during a complicated part of Welsh history that is ripe for discussion. We hope that many people will discover this fantastic film in Welsh cinemas across the rest of the year.”
The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, using funds from the National Lottery to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK.
Download the Full Press Release:
