Film Hub Wales (FHW), with Chapter as Hub Lead Organisation, are working with cinemas and film festivals across Wales to explore critically important themes of development, peace building and reconciliation on screen in 2019, during the United Nation’s International Year of Indigenous languages (IYIL2019).
Languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social integration and development but also as a repository for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. Despite their immense value, languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate.
In celebration of IY2019, Welsh exhibitors have developed film programmes that raise the international profile of the Welsh language, along with the languages of some of the largest international communities that form audiences in Wales.
Hana Lewis, Film Hub Wales’ Strategic Manager explains:
“There are many multi-cultural communities in Wales, speaking a variety of Indigenous languages from Polish to Chinese, African dialects, or the Welsh language itself. Film is an ideal tool to raise awareness of those communities who protect and preserve those languages. It is also essential that we appreciate the important cultural contribution these languages make worldwide.
With over 15 film releases weekly and 54% of those releases originating from outside of the USA or UK, there are many cultures and unseen voices to discover. We are excited to support our partners in Wales as they celebrate languages spoken both locally and across the world.”
Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of Unesco added during the global launch event of IYIL2019 on 27 January 2019 in Paris at Unesco:
“This International Year will provide an opportunity to strengthen our efforts with regard to culture, information and communication (..). We must go further in the promotion of multilingualism in the media and in online content.”
Emyr Williams, Cinema Coordinator at Pontio Bangor adds:
“When thinking about a project to work on for IYIL there was a desire to do something quite different. Much of the regular film programming work here in Pontio is done in order to normalise the Welsh language, have Welsh language films slot into the wider programme, have events and talks in Welsh in the same way as we would have with an English director touring independent cinemas, so initially I was resistant to highlighting this ‘language’ issue with regards to cinema. Then I thought about Paul Eastwood’s recent short film/artwork DYFODIAITH and knew that programming this was the obvious answer to my worries about artificially highlighting the language. Paul’s work is cinematic and very accessible and most importantly is concerned with the whole question of ‘indigenous’ language – its existence, how it evolves and how it survives. Giving up half an hour of your time to step onto a strange isolated island where your normal everyday language has mutated into something unfamiliar and wonderful is an excellent way to celebrate IYIL.”
The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, 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
TOKYO TALES
Pontio (Bangor) 13th – 19th June
Discover the cinema of two master Japanese filmmakers Yasujiro Ozu and Hirokazu Kore-Eda with a short season of classics at Pontio, Bangor. Following the release of Oscar nominated Shoplifters, there is a chance to see Kore-eda’s remastered debut, Maborosi. Ozu’s Tokyo Story also is regularly voted among the best films ever made and an Autumn Afternoon, his final film in colour.
Dyfodiath
Pontio (Bangor) 23rd July
Imagine a future world and society where Welsh and the other Brythonic languages have survived and developed in splendid isolation. Dyfodiath’s imagery forces us to contemplate our reaction to this possible future for our language. A bold, brilliant and accessible work of cinematic art will be presented with Q&A with Paul Eastwood and Llyr Titus along with a special printed booklet containing new writings about the work. Audiences can also enjoy new Welsh release, Gwen with a selection of Welsh language shorts.
pontio.co.uk/Online/
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Off Y Grid
(22-26th July)
Newly released Welsh folk tale, Gwen, which has its preview at Pontio on the 10th July in partnership with Bafta Cymru, will screen alongside a series of Welsh short films at the International Congress of Celtic Studies at Bangor University. 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.
(26th September TBC)
Off Y Grid venues will screen up to 10 multilingual films such as Gadael Lenin, in connection with European Language Day; The Council of Europe’s initiative designed to encourage 800 million European’s across 47 states to discover more languages at any age alongside their studies.
Established in 2016. Off Y Grid 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.
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Watch Africa
(25th July TBC)
Discover Kinyarwanda, the dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language spoken by at least 12 million people in Rwanda at this screening of Sacred Water at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. The film explores the evolution of Kunyaza, a culture of feminine pleasure, where female orgasm is a matter of honor for men. British born author and historian of Nigerian descent; Habeeb Aikande, who has six published books on race, sex & relationships, and Islam will lead a Q&A around the importance of culture in shaping family and community structures especially in areas of sexuality and rights of passage.
(25th July)
1958 Arabic crime drama, Cairo Station (Bab el Hadid) will be screened at the Gates Arts Centre in Cardiff. Banned for 12 years in his own country, Youssef Chahine’s searing depiction of sexual obsession will be accessible to local audiences with a special Q&A, which explores the political and social changes taking place in Egypt at the time of the film’s production.
The screenings are part of Watch Africa’s Film Club, improving the provision for African audiences in Wales in addition to the annual festival in October 2019.
watch-africa.co.uk
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Snowcat Cinema at Penarth Pier Pavillion
(Dates TBC)
Snowcat will be exploring different indigenous languages through four distinct film events.
The Edge Of The Knife (SGaawaay K’uuna 2018) is the 19th century story of two families on their annual fishing retreat in the far removed island of Haida Gwaii, a remote archipelago of Canada. Haida has been spoken for at least 14,000 years but is no only known to be used by 20 individuals.
Set among the pastoral Gaddi community in Himachal Pradesh and made in the Gaddi dialect is The Gold Laden Sheep & The Sacred Mountain (2018). The film tells the s adventures of elderly shepherd and his assistant who live on a remote unknown mountain. When news spreads of a plane crash, along with stories about the gold and silver aboard the aircraft, they set out on a life-altering journey.
Combining ancient Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian dialects, The Colour Of Pomegranates is a super-stylized, surreal biographical drama made in the Soviet Union in 1969. It follows Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, whose life is depicted through non-narrative amalgamations of poetic images and language.
snowcatcinema.co.uk/
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Gentle/Radical
(June 2019 – March 2020)
Gentle/Radical ensure that the voices of those most marginalised, are heard through the presentation of powerful cinema. Going Deeper, Going Local is the first project to launch at their new base at the Wyndham Street Centre community hub, in Riverside, Cardiff. Reaching out to minority ethnic audiences encompassing BAME women, BAME elders and BAME youth in both hyper-localised settings and across Cardiff, the project will explore how audiences are impacted by issues such as climate change, migration, housing, food justice, colonialism, and other experiences of structural oppression and injustice.
As part of Going Deeper, Going Local, in particular they are looking forward to screening Merata: How Mum Decolonised The Screen. Pioneering Maori filmmaker Merata Mita is the subject of this documentary, made by her son, Heperi Mita, a film that is a brilliant insight into the indigenous politics of New Zealand, and a portrait of a radical, trailblazing campaigner for indigenous and women’s rights.
Formed in 2017, Gentle/Radical is a grassroots cultural organisation and platform for radical thinking, creative practice and social change. They are currently running an online fundraiser to house their new cultural and community hub.
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gentleradical.org/
Phoenix Ton Pentre
(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
Abergavenny Film Society
(4th December 20219)
The longest running film society in Wales have shown films from around the world, to audiences in Abergavenny, since 1978. New drama; Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano), in the Wayuu or Goajiro language, is set during the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in columbia. It follows Rapayet and his indigenous family fight to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and culture. Wayuu is spoken by 305,000 indigenous Wayuu people in northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia on the Guajira Peninsula.
abergavennyfilmsociety.com/index.html
The Italian Film Festival
(14th – 17th November)
The Italian Film Festival Cardiff brings to the screens of Wales a dynamic and diverse portrait of contemporary Italy with its beauty, complexity and contradictions. The selection of cutting edge films feature all genres of Italian cinematography with a strong emphasis on new narrative forms and independent productions. During the past three years the Festival has become a lively space for directors, actors and producers from both sides of the Channel. The Italian Film Festival Cardiff aspires to be a part of Wales’ increasingly international artistic profile.
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Chapter, Cardiff
(23rd August +Q&A, 30th August and 5th September)
Chapter, Cardiff are offering a special screening of Bait, set in a Cornish fishing village where the way of life is threatened. Offering many parallels to Welsh life, the screening on the 23rd August will include Q&A from the film’s Director, Mark Jenkin and Welsh musician Gwenno Saunders who recently released her first album in Cornish. The music, which features in Bait, is sung in the Kerneweg language, offering opportunity to explore the cultural connections between Wales and Cornwall.
(2nd – 8th August)
From the Director of the lunchbox, Photograph follows a struggling street photographer Rafi works day and night to pay off an old family debt. Pressured to marry by his grandmother, he convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect. Beautifully shot on the streets of Mumbai with Hindi and Gujarati dialects.
https://www.chapter.org/
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National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales (NSSAW)
(January – March 2020)
In partnership with The Welsh Books Council / Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru and Thud Media, NSSAW are starting development of ‘Picturing Our Past / Fframio’n Gorffennol’, an enhanced e-book enabling audiences to discover the history of Wales on screen. It will be launched alongside a series of screenings, celebrating Welsh heritage and language 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/
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Shorts Bank
(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 and language through short filmmaking. The project will be searchable upon launch of the Hub’s new website in 2019.
filmhubwales.org/films/made-wales
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