Hiraeth (2022)

Hiraeth is a Welsh word for homesickness or nostalgia, an earnest longing or desire, or a sense of regret; the idea of this film is to discuss and in some-way communicate this idea in the (then) current light of lockdown while also exploring the history, landscape and constitution of the people of South Wales. A heartfelt and personal documentary that melds past and present adeptly with bursts of archival material, it was shot over two years and then edited in the mists of the first COVID-19 lockdown, thus the act of the film helped me deal with the circumstances, as I was stuck in university accommodation for four months, the film made me able to define my homesickness and allowed me to speak deeply to those I missed over the phone; it shows what you can do not only as a solo filmmaker but in the restrictions of this changed world we all now live in. I would hope it would inspire people of a similar age to create and in addition to that will resonate with anyone from the valleys and anyone with similar experiences.