Archive, Access, Action
The ‘Archive, Access, Action’ package of five short films is the result of the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive’s ‘Cymru Anabl’ project (2024). As part of the project, access materials were commissioned for these films, in a small step toward ensuring the wider accessibility of archive film. The films include creative documentaries centred on Deaf and disabled lives, as well as short live-action and animated dramas.
‘Cymru Anabl’ was a project by the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive in partnership with Disability Arts Cymru, Hijinx Theatre Company and TAPE: Community Music and Film, with the support of the BFI National Lottery Screen Heritage fund.
Download the package information in Word. This is a live document and it may be updated.
Call Us By Name (uncertified – possible U but please check with your local council’s licensing department) (Bernice Rubens, 1968, 27 mins)
In this film we get to meet various people, of all ages, at home, at school and at various RNIB facilities, and hear their reflections on their blindness and the way in which others respond to them. Made by Bernice Rubens in 1968 to commemorate the centenary of the RNIB.
Main language: English
Access materials: English descriptive subtitles; audio description (DCP only)
Themes: Blindness, inclusion, family
Style: Non-fiction; documentary
Welsh connection: Director Bernice Rubens
Blue Kenny (12) (Keir Alexander, 2001, 15 mins)
In this subtle and optimistic portrayal of the importance of classroom inclusion, a disruptive boy causes an idealistic young teacher to butt heads with a hard-line disciplinarian. Directed by Keir Alexander, the film was part-funded by the Manic Street Preachers and filmed in Oakdale Comprehensive, Blackwood.
Main language: English
Access materials: English descriptive subtitles, audio description (DCP only)
Themes: Inclusion, education, inspiration
Style: Fiction; poetic realism
Welsh connection: Director: Keir Alexander, Writer: Keir Alexander, Cast: Katy Cavanagh-Jupe, William Thomas, Locations: Filmed in Gwent. Funded by Sgrin’s ‘Screen Gems’ scheme
Fosia’s Story (uncertified – possible U but please check with your local council’s licensing department) (Gerald Conn & Chris Elliot, 2000, 4 mins)
Fosia Ibrahim, who is Deaf, shares her story of coming to Wales from Somalia using BSL. This part-animated film was made by Gerald Conn and Chris Elliott and the pupils of Ashgrove School for the Deaf, Penarth.
Main language: BSL
Access materials: English descriptive subtitles; audio description (DCP only)
Themes: Deafness, personal history, youth
Style: Non-fiction; mixed-media
Welsh connection: Gritty Realism Productions, Fosia Ibrahim, Ashgrove School for the Deaf
Codename Corgi (12) (Tracy Spottiswoode, 1999, 12 mins)
Slavicek (from Czechoslovakia) recounts a tale of romance and espionage with the love of his life, Bronwen (from Ponty), in this comedic animated noir. With Philip Madoc voicing our narrator Slavicek, this utterly charming film was the animation debut of writer and director Tracy Spottiswoode.
Main language: English
Access materials: English descriptive subtitles
Themes: Comedy, romance, satire
Style: Fiction; stop-motion animation
Welsh connection: Director Tracy Spottiswoode, set in Wales, funded by Sgrin’s ‘Screen Gems’ scheme
Selwyn’s Lucky Day (PG) (Nic Howell, 2000, 8 mins)
From the opening images of a naked man chasing a bleating sheep across a field under a full moon in Abertaf, this drawn animation manipulates the stereotype and delivers an appealing story about an accident-prone unemployed miner from the Valleys winning through against all the many and various odds.
Main language: English
Access materials: English descriptive subtitles
Themes: Comedy, post-industrial Wales, rugby
Style: Fiction; hand-drawn animation
Welsh connection: Director Nic Howell, set in Wales, funded by Sgrin’s ‘Animate It!’ scheme
Additional films are also available with English descriptive subtitles but without marketing package support. Some require additional screening rights clearance:
- J.G. – John Ivor Golding (Neil White, 1973, 14 mins). Please note this film contains frank discussion of sexuality and mental ill-health and may cause offense.
- The Airy Tomb (Emyr Humphreys, 1963, 13 mins)
- Island Artist (Edgar Ewart Pritchard, 1953, 20 mins)
- Bureaucats (Brian Anderson, 1978, 6 mins)
- Weemails (Jeremy Roberts, 2014, 1 min, silent)
- The Opening of the Prince of Wales Hospital at Cardiff (1918, 13 mins, silent)
- This is a B.D.D.A. film taken by members of the Cardiff Branch (Neil, Shepherd & Gatehouse, 1935, 14 mins, silent)
Programming/event ideas
- Pairing the film with more recent Welsh films, either feature or short. Some suggestions:
- Features: The Almond and the Seahorse, Mr Burton, The Road of Excess, Proud (coming in 2026), Amber and Me
- Shorts: Showdown, Mirain a’r Môr, Little Voices
- Sharing programme notes to accompany the screening.
- Introductions or presentations by local experts/campaigners/organisations that align with the screening’s themes.
- Panel discussion after the film about related and topical themes.
- Pay-what-you-can or sliding scale ticket model to encourage new or lower-income audiences to attend.
- Distributor: National Library of Wales Screen & Sound Archive
- Booking contact: [email protected]
- Fee: Variable, maximum £30 (+VAT)
