If you’re looking to fill your calendar with Welsh films this winter and settle into a cosy cinema seat, in front of the big screen, we have the list for you.
It’s already been a busy year for films with Welsh connections in 2024 with dramatic features such as The Almond and the Seahorse, Unicorns and Chuck Chuck Baby, plus the epic animation; Kensuke’s Kingdom, all of which had special Made in Wales interviews to introduce audiences to the Welsh links.
We have even more to look forward to, starting with Timestalker, which releases October 11th. Director Alice Lowe creates a karmic, hilarious and sometimes violent journey that sees the hapless heroine Agnes reincarnated every time she makes the same mistake: falling in love with the wrong man. The film has a host of Welsh connections from producer Vaughan Sivell to actor Aneurin Barnard, who Made in Wales interviewed this week. It was also filmed in Cardiff and Penpont House in Brecon.
Welsh Producer Vaughan Sivell explains:
Since my first film, Third Star, we’ve managed to shoot many of our films in part at home in Wales but in this case, we managed to shoot the entirety of Timestalker there. We doubled the Brecon Beacons as the Scottish Highlands, Penpont House as Georgian England and Cardiff Bay as 1980’s New York! The Welsh crew were outstanding and we had an amazing time. I can’t wait for local audiences to see it on the big screen.
Moving on to November, we have two documentaries with globally significant themes. First up is India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency, from Pembrokeshire based director Ila Mehrotra, releasing November 11th during Transgender Awareness Week. This emotionally charged journey, filmed over seven years, follows the extraordinary story of Rudrani Chettri, her friends and the transgender community of Delhi as they create India’s first ever trans modelling agency. The film explores the complex world of India’s ‘third gender’ (Hijra), where traditional values clash with human rights. The film brings identifiable stories of love and loss, hope and poverty, beauty, glamour and catwalk glory.
On November 22nd, the multi award winning O R Tambo’s Comrade Tambo’s London Recruits will be launched to a wider cinema going public via what the organisers are calling a ‘People’s Release’. The film, hailed by Variety as an ‘edge of your seats documentary thriller‘, is set at the height of apartheid in the late sixties / early seventies as a group of working-class, anti-racist activists living in London answer Oliver Tambo’s secret call for undercover agents to bring hope to his embattled people inside South Africa. The release is being organised in partnership with the Trade Union movement and solidarity with Southern Africa organisation, ACTSA, in response to nationwide race riots across the UK. A key component will be post-screening panel discussions on how we can all contribute to an anti-racist Britain.
Welsh Director Gordon Main explains why releases like Comrade Tambo’s London Recruits are so significant:
With an emboldened far right once more on our streets, this film offers a powerful, anti-racist alternative to hate. The London Recruits risked their liberty for a better world. They are an inspiration. Shot in Wales and South Africa, the film is a proud Cymru / South Africa collaboration. It’s a showcase for great talent and locations in both countries and is part of a wider cultural and artistic dialogue that sees Welsh / African creative partnerships as vital for a culturally healthy, outward looking, international Wales.
Also highly anticipated is the second feature from Zambian Welsh Director Rungano Nyoni: On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. The film follows Shula as she drives on an empty road in the middle of the night, stumbling across the body of her beloved uncle Fred. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. Keep your eye out for the release date, coming soon.
Fans of all things gory, can also look out for ambitious low-budget slasher film Scopohobia from Welsh director and writer Aled Owen this autumn, as well as Protein about a gym obsessed serial killer, coming soon from a team of Welsh producers Craig Russell, Tom Gripper and Dan Bailey. Both films were made in and around Swansea. Audiences can still also catch screenings of creepy British folk horror, Starve Acre, starring Welsh actors Morfydd Clark and Erin Richards.
Hana Lewis, Film Hub Wales’ Manager on how the Made in Wales project will support these releases:
Through our Made in Wales project, we work closely with the rightsholders to promote each release, creating assets such as interviews with talent and editorial articles which showcase Welsh elements such as themes or locations, of which audiences might otherwise not be aware. It’s essential that these films reach communities in cinema environments as they help us to see Wales on screen and the world to see us. We can explore our cultural identity in new ways, giving voice to diverse storytellers and challenging stereotypical perceptions of Wales.
Film Hub Wales’ Made in Wales (MIW) project celebrates films with Welsh connections. It offers a host of year-round activities in partnership with Welsh exhibitors, including a film catalogue, which hosts information on over 1000 shorts and feature films and Made in Wales podcast. Audiences can keep up to date with news of upcoming Welsh releases and the latest interviews by following @Madeinwales_ on social media.
MIW is made possible thanks to funding from Creative Wales and the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), awarding funds from the National Lottery. BFI FAN offers support to exhibitors across the whole of the UK, to boost cultural programming and engage diverse audiences. In Wales, activity is led by Film Hub Wales, managed by Chapter.
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The season will be presented by the BFI Film Audience Network at venues UK-wide from October-December 2024, with highlights including:
The BFI today announces a new season celebrating the artistry of real action choreography, that has kept film audiences on the edge of their seats since the early days of cinema. Presented by the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) using funds from the National Lottery, ART OF ACTION will take place at cinemas across the UK from October-December 2024, with the chance to get behind-the-scenes insights from those working in the action and stunt communities, via special events, demonstrations, talks and screenings throughout the season. ART OF ACTION will spotlight the genre through the ages, with films ranging from cult classics to lesser-known gems from around the world. It will illuminate the work of female stunt performers and their struggle for recognition, and champion the new wave of action stars and filmmakers who are building upon the legacy of those who have fallen, crashed, smashed and picked themselves up before them.
From the jaw-dropping stunts of the silent era to the intricate dynamic choreography of today’s biggest action films, via the daredevil ethos of Hong Kong filmmaking, ART OF ACTION will feature screenings of THE GENERAL (1926), THE TRAIN (1964), THE WILD BUNCH (1969), the POLICE STORY TRILOGY (1985-1992), RUN LOLA RUN (1998), CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000), POLITE SOCIETY (2023) and many more. The centrepiece of ART OF ACTION will be a BFI re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s POINT BREAK (1991) starring Keanu Reeves as FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover with a gang of surfers, led by Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, who are suspects in a series of bank robberies. Bigelow’s kinetic masterpiece, which has rarely been seen on big screens in the UK in recent years, will be released in selected cinemas UK-wide by BFI Distribution on 8 November, with the film also available on BFI Player on the same date.
Timon Singh, BFI FAN Producer and programmer of ART OF ACTION, said:
After the triumph of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and the continued success of franchises like JOHN WICK and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, it’s clear that the thrill of watching ‘real action’ done by stunt performers, as well as stars like Michelle Yeoh and Tom Cruise, still captivates audiences. This season looks at the cinematic artistry, skills and craft involved in creating iconic action sequences and films, as well as engage with the historic roots and cross-cultural influences of the genre. We’ll celebrate the skill and daring of actors and stunt performers and their extraordinary on-screen exploits and provide opportunities to get behind-the-scenes insights into the daring world of action design which will thrill and entertain, and hopefully inspire the next generation of creatives.
Jason Wood, BFI Director of Public Programme & Audiences, said:
Art of Action will be a high-octane crowd pleaser at a moment when we truly need to be supporting cinemas, which provide such vital culture and entertainment to communities across the UK. The BFI Film Audience Network plays a really important role in getting diverse films to audiences and this has been an inspirational and creative collaboration with our colleagues at Watershed, Bristol taking the lead. It’s a greatblueprint for how the BFI can work with partners UK-wide on major projects. Art of Action’s broad historical and international scope presents the films we love alongside brand-new discoveries from silent gems to combat charged women, martial arts to major blockbusters plus a long-awaited re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s seminal Point Break. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
The season will be programmed around three key themes, with the first dedicated to spotlighting action through the ages – from the early visual gags of silent gems like THE GENERAL (1926) to influential classics such as THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) and THE TRAIN (1964), through to the intricate and dynamic wuxia choreography of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000). ART OF ACTION will also bust the myth that action is just by and for men; celebrating the plethora of female talent in front of and behind the camera, as well as shedding a light on under-represented voices in the action community, from YES MADAM (1985) to POLITE SOCIETY (2023) via RUN LOLA RUN (1998). Finally, the season will explore how action films became a global phenomenon as both Eastern and Western filmmakers were inspired by each other, and the impact of such cross-cultural influences on cinema today – from SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) to the POLICE STORY TRILOGY (1985-1992).
More than 50 venues UK-wide will host events and screenings supported by the BFI Film Audience Network, with some of the highlights set to include:
The full UK-wide line-up of screenings, events and touring programmes will be announced soon.
BFI Southbank will play host to a major season from 21 October – 30 November, concentrating on several themes alongside stunts; the women of action, the master John Woo and the influence of Bollywood, as well as serving a plotted guide through the history of action cinema with a special all action-themed edition of Big Screen Classics, where BFI Southbank shows classic films on a daily basis for just £9. Special events confirmed for the season so far include Stunt Saturday on 16 November, a special day of talks, panel events, screenings and workshops all celebrating the art of stunts. BFI Southbank will welcome Nida Manzoor for a Q&A on 17 November, following a screening of her hilarious and exhilarating action/comedy POLITE SOCIETY (2023), which follows 16-year-old Ria, an aspiring stuntwoman, who is alarmed when her sister Lena is swept up by a charming suitor and starts heading towards marriage at speed. Also on 17 November, The Art of the Action Trailer will present some of the best and worst action trailers through time, pondering the iconic trailer voiceover and decide whether it’s better to reveal or conceal the big stunts.
BFI IMAX, the UK’s largest screen, is one of the best places to watch an action blockbuster with its immersive, unmatched scale. The cinema will host a number of events during the season, including all-nighters dedicated to JOHN WICK and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and the premiere of a new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) on 26 September. SEVEN SAMURAI will also be released by the BFI on 4K UHD on 21 October, with the new restoration playing in further selected cinemas as part of the season. More information about the 4K UHD release will be revealed soon.
Audiences will also be able to stream films from the season at home on BFI Player, with a selection of titles set to include FIST OF FURY (1972), THE STREET FIGHTER (1974), ARMOUR OF GOD (1986), HEROES SHED NO TEARS (1986), POINT BREAK (1991), RUN LOLA RUN (1998), LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE (2022) and many more to be announced soon.
Film Hub Wales (FHW) has awarded over £100,000 of BFI National Lottery funding to nineteen independent Welsh cinemas and film festivals, through its Film Exhibition Fund.
Funds will enable Welsh audiences to watch the latest UK independent and international films in their local communities, at affordable prices. From relaxed, family friendly films to eco cinema strands and the latest Welsh releases, there’s plenty to choose from.
Audiences in Bridgend and Blaenau Ffestiniog will even get to watch the films in exciting new cinema spaces. Awen Cultural Trust is launching its Llynfi Valley Cinema Project alongside at Maesteg Town Hall following its multi-million-pound redevelopment. At Cellb, their new ‘Sgrin Emyr Ankst’, opens in memory of Welsh music and cinema pioneer Emyr Glyn Williams – his legacy is set to inspire the young people of Wales for many years to come.
Rhys Roberts from Cellb explains the importance of their new screen to the community:
Cellb is located in the center of the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a high mountainous location under the Stiniog quarries with its rich past history in industry, heritage and culture. It was the location for the first ever Welsh language film, Y Chwarelwr, an important film that reflects the lives of the local quarrymen in its community. Its past historic Culture and Welsh language was a vital part of the social and cultural dynamics.
Today, we feel that it’s important to celebrate and to educate our young people about modern heroes such as Emyr and it is with this in mind that we wish to dedicate our Screen 1 to his name. Our youths need role models, whom have flourished in the arts and culture and Emyr is a fine example of a local boy who dreamt big and made a huge impact on Welsh Culture. This is for you Emyr, you have inspired us and we will shine your beacon on to the masses for years to come. Diolch Emyr, Caru chdi.
At the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, they’re building relationships with their audiences and local partners, exploring global themes of intersectional identity through their film programme. They’re opening up the space to new communities by celebrating important awareness dates such as Black History Month, LGBTQIA+ History Month and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Chelsey Gillard, The Torch’s Artistic Director explains:
We are thrilled to work with Film Hub Wales to deliver a series of celebratory cinema seasons across six months. This funding will allow us to build relationships with our communities and discover what people want to see at their local cinema, informing our long-term sustainability. By working with partners across Wales that bring a wealth of lived experiences, we will be able to screen a wider variety of films and facilitate post-screening events that we hope will support discussion, reflection and connection.
Other highlights include youth-led activities at Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea and Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard, works screened from neurodivergent filmmakers at both Hijinx Unity Festival and through Cardiff Animation Festival’s Different Voices strand, as well as a nature/ecology in horror strand at Abertoir International Horror Festival – think disgusting real-life parasites and ‘nature fights back’.
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager of Film Hub Wales adds:
The fund is designed to help cinemas, festivals and community screens to bring the best UK independent and international films to Welsh audiences, in accessible and affordable ways. There’s so much to look forward to this year, which communities simply can’t get from watching a film at home. By heading out to their local cinema space, they’re already part of something bigger within their community and with a host of activities on offer, audiences get a night out for the price of their ticket.
The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, which is part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) using funds from the National Lottery to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK. Funds in Wales are administered by FHW via Chapter as the Film Hub Lead Organisation.
More than £30M is raised each week for good causes across the UK by the National Lottery.
The programme will see investment in eight local areas across the UK to boost audience choice and improve access to screenings of independent film.
Announced today as part of the latest iteration of BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), SPOTLIGHT sees additional BFI National Lottery investment in eight local areas across the UK to boost audience choice and improve access to screenings of independent film. In addition, each FAN Hub now also has funding available – totalling over £750,000 – to support a wide range of exhibition activity across the UK, and Network is also rolling out significant skills programmes to upskill exhibition professionals. This comes as an external evaluation of BFI FAN is published, highlighting its success in reaching new audiences and broadening access to screen culture.
For BFI FAN 2023 to 2026, the BFI ringfenced £1.85 million National Lottery funding for SPOTLIGHT. It takes a hyper-local approach to developing screenings in eight areas, each identified as having little or no screening provision by their local Film Hubs. The projects will be delivered over three years, in many cases operating in partnership with locally based film organisations, with an end goal of establishing audiences and screening activities that can be sustained and continue once this targeted support ends.
The SPOTLIGHT areas and the partners set to receive support are:
Ben Luxford, BFI’s Director of UK Audiences says:
The aim of BFI FAN has always been to open up access and opportunity for everyone across the UK to be able to discover and watch a rich variety of UK and international indie film. Given the ongoing challenges the exhibition sector is facing, the value of FAN, particularly the financial support and training it offers, is more vital than ever. The latest FAN evaluation outlines where it has had a positive impact and helped us set the roadmap for this latest iteration – it tells us that having a connected national network which has a localised approach is key to its success. In introducing SPOTLIGHT we want to encourage ultra-local audience development, focussing on a specific area that is underserved and enable the Hubs to take action to improve the offer and engage the local community. As well as benefit to those audiences, we also hope the whole of FAN will gather learnings to make longer-term impact.
Also rolling out in 2024 are a series of BFI FAN skills and development initiatives intended to provide Hub members with access to vital training and learning opportunities. These include REACH: Strategic Audience Development training which has been created by the ICO and run for four previous editions. This intensive course will give its participants an opportunity to build their expertise in growing and developing audiences and is soon to be followed by a new course – Revisiting Your Cinema Business Model – intended to address the pressing need for greater financial and commercial knowledge within cinemas across the UK.
A regular programme of online webinars is also being offered to FAN members across the UK covering a range of topics including environmental sustainability, access, working with young audiences and screen heritage. Later this year will also see the launch of a new BFI FAN Conference, bringing member organisations together to share best practice in reaching audiences with innovative film programmes and develop a more connected community of peers within the Network.
These initiatives come as BFI FAN published an evaluation of its activity between 2018 and 2022 undertaken by Indigo Ltd. The report highlights the success of the decentralised funding model that saw an £8 million investment support over 2,428 projects that added an estimated value of at least £21.2 million to the economy. FAN exceeded its ambitious audience targets, with supported activity achieving almost 2.3 million admissions from 1,514 audience facing projects.
We are devastated by the loss of our friend and colleague, Emyr.
We were fortunate to have worked with him over the last ten years, since the start of his journey at Pontio. He called us in excitement to chat about programming the cinema, before the building had even opened. He was a constant collaborator from that point onwards, someone who supported us, as much as we hopefully did him. He inspired the idea of the ‘Off y Grid’ project because he felt the loneliness of running a venue at times and wanted to create partnerships with neighbouring cinemas.
He was the kind of person that would meet you with open arms and hug you like he meant it. You could talk to him for hours (and we did sometimes) about films or creative ideas. He was someone that we could approach for any project idea and know he’d come up with something spot on. A brilliant champion of Welsh language and culture and font of knowledge when it came to Welsh film.
We only shared a small part of Emyr’s life and are grateful for that. We send our love and deepest condolences to his family, friends and his colleagues at Pontio and beyond.
Emyr often found himself quoted all over our site because he had a beautiful way with words. You’ll find him as a permanent fixture on our home page, where he summed it up in six words: ‘cinema belongs to all of us.’ We’ll miss you Emyr. We know you’ll already have the lights down low and a projector running up there.
It’s our tenth Birthday! We’re looking back to this time in 2013, when we launched a significant new programme in partnership with Welsh cinemas, film festivals and community screens, designed to build audiences for British independent and international film across Wales.
This has all been made possible thanks our partners in exhibition and across BFI FAN, with funding from The National Lottery via the BFI. Join us for a look back at just a fraction of what we’ve achieved together over the last decade.
Watch video messages from our members below, along with a special ten year video edit, plus our press release, ten year highlights and social stories:
We’ve created a Made in Wales Support Pack for this film, featuring an exclusive video introduction from Welsh actor Carly-Sophia Davies, editorial in partnership with Buzz Magazine, social cards, programming recommendations and social assets, all of which you can share with your audiences to promote the film’s Welsh connections.
TAPE Community Music and Film are launching a new cinema project for communities across North Wales, with support from Film Hub Wales.
TAPE Community Music and Film are launching a new cinema project for communities across North Wales, with support from Film Hub Wales.
Specialising in creative inclusion, TAPE have ‘co-created’ the project in collaboration with their Media Club – a safe and supportive space which offers hands on experiences to a cohort of people from across the local community.
‘Neighbourhood Watch’, named by Josh one of the Media Club members, will launch with a screening of locally filmed, BAFTA nominated, comedy Brian and Charles at Llanrwst Family Centre on Friday 22nd September. There will be special guests and some surprises for the audience!
Josh is looking forward to the first event:
I like the idea of bringing the community together through film. I feel proud to be part of this.
Steve Swindon, Creative Director of TAPE explains how the Media Club works and why the project is needed:
We can bring people together through Media Club and work as a team to develop exciting projects which link to a whole range of creative opportunities. Neighbourhood Watch is a hugely exciting project for several reasons. It builds on the film programming work the group has done and the wide range of screenings and events they’ve hosted. It also moves this work into communities across North Wales and connects people in new ways through the workshops running alongside. We can’t wait to get started.
Neighbourhood Watch will bring monthly screenings of UK independent and international film to up to five communities from 2023-26, with potential areas for expansion including Anglesey and Llanfairfechan. The communities involved will have opportunities to develop skills such as booking films and marketing events, whilst also making friends and growing their professional networks. Each screening will have a workshop, guest or masterclass, plus the chance to participate in the development of TAPE’s next feature film project, Below the Waves, which is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager of Film Hub Wales adds:
There’s so much innovation taking place across North Wales but we know that communities aren’t always able to access events, whether this is due to the cost of living crisis, poor transport links or lack of local services. Neighbourhood Watch is driven by the community itself, creating an appetite for film on their own doorsteps. TAPE’s Media Club are bursting with creative ideas to make the project work for their community in an inclusive way – which is really important to us. We hope that their work will encourage wider cinema going, supporting nearby cinemas and festivals in the long-term.
BFI FAN is a nationwide programme made possible thanks to National Lottery funding that seeks to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK. In Wales, funds are administered by Film Hub Wales via Chapter. The Neighbourhood Watch project is designed to meet objectives in the BFI’s recently launched 10-year strategy, Screen Culture 2033.
More than £30M is raised each week for good causes across the UK by the National Lottery.
Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger, a major BFI UK-wide film celebration of one of the greatest and most enduring filmmaking partnerships in the history of cinema: Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), best known for their iconic films including THE RED SHOES (1948), A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) and BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), comes to big screens nationwide this autumn. CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER today announces a UK-wide programme, funded by National Lottery, with over 56 special events and screenings, in the first round, supported in partnership by BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN).
From Martin Scorsese to Matthew Bourne, Kate Bush to Margaret Atwood, Tilda Swinton and Greta Gerwig, Powell and Pressburger have influenced creatives for decades, their bold, subversive and iconoclastic cinema continuing to resonate across the worlds of art, design, theatre, dance and music. This is the largest and most wide-ranging exploration ever undertaken about the work of the legendary writer-producer-director team. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s incredibly fruitful artistic collaboration at their production company, The Archers, spanned 24 films together made between 1939 and 1972.
The UK-wide celebration kicks off this autumn on the big screen with the BFI Distribution re-release of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945), back in UK-wide cinemas from 20 October. I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was recently restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus, with funding for the restoration provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick. BFI Distribution is also re-releasing the iconic dance film THE RED SHOES (1948), in honour of its 75th anniversary from 8 December. THE RED SHOES was previously restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding for the film was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation. Both restorations have been licensed from Park Circus/ITV. A new restoration of PEEPING TOM (1960) restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Studiocanal will be released in UK cinemas by Studiocanal on 27 October.
Studiocanal will also be unveiling a new 4K restoration of THE SMALL BACK ROOM (1949) as part of CINEMA UNBOUND. Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Studiocanal, THE SMALL BACK ROOM will be available via Studiocanal as well as a first ever DCP print for OH…ROSALINDA!! (1955). BFI FAN partners nationwide will also be able to book classic Powell and Pressburger’s titles, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946), BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), and double bills of THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937) + RETURN TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1978) as well as the recent restoration of Michael Powell’s BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) + THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE (1955). BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) has been restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with The Ashbrittle Film Foundation, with funding provided by the BFI National Archive, The Louis B. Mayer Foundation and The Film Foundation. The sublime new restoration of BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) will also be released by the BFI in a Dual format edition (DVD & Blu-ray) in November.4
Following the huge success of the inaugural BFI Film on Film Festival in June, the season will offer UK-wide audiences a chance to experience the magic of seeing films projected on film, with 35mm print screenings of BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), THE RED SHOES (1948), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) and THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (1951), with new prints made with funding from the National Lottery and the additional support of donors to the BFI’s Keep Film on Film campaign.
Programme highlights up and down the UK and Northern Ireland include aroma-focused immersive screenings of BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) in Chester, Brighton and Glasgow, a series of screenings in Orkney, Mull, the Isle of Tiree and Oban, celebrating Powell and Pressburger’s Island films including I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945) and THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937). Special screenings planned at Much Wenlock, Shropshire, the location for GONE TO EARTH (1949) and Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens, West Sussex one of the key filming locations for BLACK NARCISSUS (1947). Other event highlights include an immersive screening of THE RED SHOES (1948) at Exeter Cathedral and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) at Nympsfield Airfield Aerodrome, Gloucestershire. Plus, Powell and Pressburger film seasons at cinemas across the country from Cardiff, Derry, Belfast, Glasgow, Nottingham and Sheffield, to Dundee, Folkestone, Cambridge and Manchester.
Powell and Pressburger’s masterpieces were so numerous that in 2022 six of their films appeared in the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll (a feat only matched by Hitchcock). True cinematic visionaries, Powell and Pressburger worked with an exceptionally talented creative team of long-term collaborators as The Archers. This included Alfred Junge (production designer), Hein Heckroth (production designer and costume designer), Jack Cardiff (cinematographer), Ivor Beddoes (sketch artist), Arthur Lawson (art director) and Brian Easdale (composer) as well as actors including Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer, Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron and Sabu. Together they created some of the richest and most memorable films in the story of cinema, the impact of which continues to be felt today.
Members of Film Hub Wales can still apply for funding to present events and screenings that celebrate the work of Powell & Pressburger and their influence. Read our funding guidelines and submit an application.
Film Hub Wales (FHW) has awarded £50,000 of National Lottery funding to nine independent cinemas and film festivals in Wales through its Film Exhibition Fund.
Funds will enable Welsh communities to watch the latest UK independent and international films on their doorsteps. From queer animated shorts in Cardiff, to live music and film nights in Tywyn, there’s a huge variety of activities to choose from.
The funded projects share the aim to offer climate conscious events at affordable prices. Wales One World Film Festival are running their ‘Ecosinema’ event with the theme of ‘Another World is Possible,’ which includes two short climate stories on screen from Bangladesh and an event in partnership with the Land Workers Alliance, all on a ‘pay what you feel’ basis.
Annita Nitsaidou, Marketing Officer at WOW Festival explains why these are important themes for WOW in 2023:
The climate and cost of living crises are two issues that are as local as they are global, just like Ecosinema. We want to accentuate the urgency of climate change, its global nature and the need for sustainable solutions – reminding us all that ‘Another World is Possible’. We have always believed in the power of storytelling to create social change and by making ‘Ecosinema’ accessible with our ‘pay what you feel’ offer, it will continue to offer a platform for filmmakers, activists, and audiences to come together and engage in meaningful conversations. A space where people can learn, be inspired and be part of a community that is committed to making a positive difference in the world.
Cardiff Animation Festival (CAF) have a host of events on offer all year, from free monthly screenings at their Cardiff Animation Nights, to regular free family film club screenings at both Chapter in Canton and Oasis’ centre in Splott. They are also continuing their ‘Planet Positive’ strand of screenings and talks on how animation can help fight the climate crisis.
Festival Director, Lauren Orme explains how CAF is creating a community around animation in Wales:
CAF is all about bringing people together around a love of animation. We’re running a year-round programme of films, talks and activities people can get involved in, to nurture the kind and welcoming community we’ve built around animation over the past nine years – which is more important than ever after lockdown. We’re making our programme more accessible and inclusive through captioning and BSL interpretation, and making our events free wherever we can. We’re really grateful for the continued support of Film Hub Wales, who have helped CAF to grow since our first festival.
Other highlights Wales wide include free films for families at the Magic Lantern in Tywyn and special climate conscious events as part of the ‘Greener Tywyn’ initiative. At Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival there will be a free Manga café alongside events, where audiences can read Japanese comics after watching a film. At Cellb in Blaenau Ffestiniog, they have monthly Youth PicZ screenings where their Clwb Clinc youths can watch films at affordable prices, whilst also building their skills in front of house, projection, technical and media techniques.
Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager for Film Hub Wales explains why funding for exhibition is so important:
The Film Exhibition Fund exists to help cinemas, festivals and community screens to bring the best UK independent and international films to audiences right across Wales. Welsh exhibitors are navigating serious challenges like the cost of living crisis, whilst also adapting at a time of global climate crisis. This is no easy thing to do but they never fail to think creatively – meaning that Welsh cinemas and festivals are still the best places to watch films and for audiences to enjoy an affordable night out. Investment to preserve these community services is crucial.
The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, which is part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) using funds from the National Lottery to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK. Funds in Wales are administered by FHW via Chapter as the Film Hub Lead Organisation.
More than £30M is raised each week for good causes across the UK by the National Lottery.
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Film Hub Wales has released a report examining the performance of 14 key films with Welsh connections released in cinemas between March 2021 and March 2022.
The films, which range from Prano Bailey Bond’s Censor, to Lindsay Walker’s The Welshman, were selected as a sample from 20 known titles, reflecting a range of release strategies and sizes. All titles benefitted from the support of Film Hub Wales’ Made in Wales (MIW) strategy, which is funded by Creative Wales and the BFI. Welsh connections include where films were set or filmed in Wales, or made by or featuring Welsh talent.
This unique report, which was written by distribution consultant Delphine Lievens, leads on from an equivalent study commissioned by Film Hub Wales in 2020. It outlines a range of key data including how Welsh films are funded, produced, marketed and distributed, along with a range of diversity statistics. The aim of the work is to create new benchmarks against which emerging trends in Welsh audience behaviour can be explored annually, enabling the screen industry to respond.
Film Hub Wales Manager, Hana Lewis explains:
We take inspiration from countries such as Sweden where they routinely publish data about the performance of their homegrown films and use this to inform future productions as well as distribution and sales strategies. There’s a lack of shared data about film in Wales and we believe by developing this work we can better understand how audiences respond to on-screen content and interrogate issues around equity, prioritising films that explore fair representation. It also enables us to understand how well Made in Wales is working as a scheme, so we can tailor our support and ensure Welsh stories reach audiences.
The 14 titles reviewed for this report took £1.1million at UK and Ireland box office, with 13% of those admissions in Wales (an increase of 2% since 2020). Three quarters (77%) of the films exceeded the 3.15% average market share for 2021 Welsh box office. The report shows that smaller Welsh-set or Welsh story-based releases were popular with cinemas and their audiences in Wales. It highlights films such as The Welshman which had 100% of its screenings in Welsh cinemas; La Cha Cha, which took 99% of its box office from Welsh sites and The Toll, which made 83% of box office takings within Wales.
Director of The Welshman Lindsay Walker explains how important the support of Welsh cinemas and Made in Wales was to the release of the film:
It was so important that The Welshman screened at local cinemas, it was special! It brought communities together and gave a bigger sense of pride to our history in Wales. Having the film screened at independent cinemas during the pandemic allowed smaller cinemas to open and put audiences back into seats and Made in Wales helped us to achieve that. It’s amazing what film can do by bringing people together.
One of the key findings of the report is that despite a growing commitment to equity and inclusion within the UK film industry, none of the 14 films analysed were directed, produced or written by Black or non-Black people of colour, which was a decrease from 4% in 2020. Although there was a 32% increase in women directors and 10% increase in women producers, none were filmmakers of colour. There was a 2% increase in lead credits for actors from non-white backgrounds (from 7% to 9.38%).
Ila Mehrotra, Director of upcoming feature Being Hijra (2023) documenting India’s first transgender modeling agency, explains why stories from diverse filmmakers are crucial for Wales:
When we are given then chance to tell our own stories, then tokenism becomes a thing of the past, but in order to get there the film industry needs to provide us with well-paid, creative opportunities that create long-term financial and creative stability in our lives. Only then will we see real change in front of and behind the camera.
Other key data included that there were no Welsh language features released during the period (a decrease from one film, Anorac, in 2020). It is anticipated that this will improve significantly over the coming years with the announcement of the new Sinema Cymru Development Fund.
Gerwyn Evans, Deputy Director, Creative Wales adds:
This type of research is so important as it helps to provide an accurate picture of the film sector in Wales and enables us to identify areas where we must do a better job of reflecting and representing our communities. While it is encouraging to see an increase in the representation of female directors in the screen industry in 2021/22, it is clear that there is a lot still to do to challenge the lack of diversity and inclusion across Film and TV. Creative Wales is committed to driving change in this arena through continued partnership working, financial support and supporting trainee schemes. Our mission is to tackle these issues head on and, in turn, create more opportunities for people from all backgrounds, at every stage of their career in screen.
Films meeting wider inclusion criteria may have been funded between March 2020 and March 2021 but not released, and were therefore ineligible for analysis in this report. Film Hub Wales is committed to undertaking this research annually, subject to funding, and is working on a selection of titles with diverse talent, releasing in 2023.
Film Hub Wales’ MIW project offers year-round activities in partnership with Welsh exhibitors, including a film catalogue, which hosts over 700 shorts and features with Welsh connections. MIW is made possible thanks to direct support from Welsh Government via Creative Wales and the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), awarding funds from the National Lottery. BFI FAN offers support to exhibitors across the whole of the UK, to boost cultural programming and engage diverse audiences. In Wales, activity is led by Film Hub Wales, managed by Chapter.
Audiences can keep up to date with news of the upcoming Welsh releases on the Made in Wales section of Film Hub Wales’ website, or by following @Filmhubwales on social media.
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Inclusive Cinema’s podcast series, Working Class Inclusion: Audiences, Colleagues & Programming, provides information and guidance to support exhibitors in improving cinema experiences for working-class people and those in poverty.
The resource comprises a series of six podcast episodes that cover a range of areas, from sliding-scale ticketing and equitable employment practices, to the films that are programmed and how they are presented.
There is also an access and inclusion checklist to support venues, festivals, industry initiatives and event organisers with strategic and operational measures to welcome working-class audiences and colleagues.
The series is presented by Dr. Leanne Dawson, senior lecturer in Film and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant.
