Wales in Cinema and Y Llyfrgell - The Library

When you think of British cinema, what do you think of? Is it the London gangster films of Guy Ritchie or Trainspotting or the more arthouse Under The Skin. Very few people think or associate Wales or the Welsh language with cinema I am a passionate supporter of Welsh cinema and Welsh language within cinema. Wales is really under represented in films especially within British cinema, you consistently see the same story lines being used about gangsters in London or musicians in Manchester, but when it comes to Wales there is very little out there. But this in a way is a saviour of Welsh cinema as rather than being tied in with a stereotype of a certain story with a certain location, it  means that there is space for diversity within the stories coming out of Welsh cinema. This could also be seen negatively, as part of the reason you see similar films coming from the same locations is usually because financially they are very successful and their return makes it worth it, because of the successful formula you will see the same stories being told.

But welsh cinema is really producing amazing diversity in storytelling, from one of my favourite documentaries of last year Dark Horse(2015) directed by Louise Osmond, which followed the story of a syndicate formed in a pub by a barmaid in a Welsh mining village, which bought and trained a racehorse that went on to race at Aintree, its one of my favourite films last year and made me cry so hard, not out of sadness just mainly out of the passion from everyone within the film. You also have Welsh language films such as  Hedd Wyn(1992) directed by Paul Turner, which went on to become the first Welsh language film nominated for an Academy Award, Patagonia(2010)directed by Marc Evans which follows the Welsh Argentine culture within Patagonia . Just visit the Ffilm Cymru Wales website to see more of the projects that they have helped to support and create.

The most recent film that I'm excited about is the film Y Llyfrgell (the library) its a welsh language thriller directed by Euros Lyn (Marvels Daredevil, Sherlock and Happy Valley) and written by the novelist Fflur Dafydd, its a tale of revenge that sees twin daughters setting a trap within a library to try and capture their mothers murderer, I love a good thriller so I'm very excited  to see this film and I hope it continues to set a strong path for Wales in film.

Y Llyfrgell - The library Trailer

Please watch and be as excited as me. 'Adult Life Skills' by Rachel Tunnard.

I recently saw this trailer for the film 'Adult Life Skills' and became sweaty and excited, mostly because I secretly love it when film characters have the same name as me (except for Anna in Frozen that's a big no) and also because my own mother is trying to force me to live in the shed at the bottom of the garden. But this film explores the art of a quarter life crisis and that's a subject that I will always support so please watch it and be as excited as me about it.

Also the director Rachel Tunnard has a really cool blog and i think we could be best friends in my imaginary best friend world so please check it out.

Rachel Tunnard Blog

Comedy on film. How do?

Comedy. How do? Comedy and film are a relationship older than the now mouldy tea I left on my bedside table last week.Truly very old and loyal, but not quite so rotten relationship. Its a sweet combination that is very difficult to transfer from what has been written in script to what is on the screen. Many techniques have been used such as slapstick to animation to try and bleed those desperately needed laughs out of their audience. However one technique that is used but consistently overlooked is the art of editing. I am guilty of overlooking editing which is actually the biggest compliment you could give editing in a film or TV show. Editing is a subtle art of placing the shots in order, even switching shots from face to face when characters are talking are a decision that an editor has taken to help, you the audience to concentrate on that particular character talking at that certain time, its such a simple trick, but you don't even think about it until you think about it. They help you to concentrate into different aspects of the story to allow the film flow and the story be seen, the more it fits into and blends with the emotions and story line of the film, the more I want to slap a massive snog on the lips of said editor. 'Step into the ring the all time master of such art Eddddggaaarrr Wwwrrrrriigghhttt (Edgar Wright)' Edgar Wright is one of my all time favourite directors I love how unique his films are and how much thought and care you ca see has gone into each shot, for a bigger explanation please watch the video essay by Every Frame A Painting to further admire such work.

Begin and End.

I am obsessive with film detail, one such detail is the idea of the beginning and ending of films having a connection. As everyone knows the basic to writing any story is having your beginning middle and end to a plot. But when it comes to transferring that story onto the screen often the visuals can take away from the plot, but one such visual trick that connects the written plot to the visuals is to have this connection between the beginning and end.This can also help with the audience seeing the transformation that the protagonist has been through so you can compare the difference before and after you know the story.


Do you even need to watch the entire movie, or could you get the gist simply by looking at the first and last frame? That's the question Mico Toledo and his creative partner Juan Sevilla asked themselves. They placed the first and last frames side by side from a catalogue of films for their project Begin/End.The project is breaking down narratives of film and how they are relayed to the audience, to discover which directors can truly tell a story in just one picture.

The imagery is very beautiful and they have stockpiled

 images from over 80 films (link below):

Begin/End

Also watch this Youtube video for Screen rant 

which compares so many beginnings and endings:

Screen Rant Video

Mustang (2015)

Mustang 2015

In my annual rushed attempt to watch all of the Academy Award nominated motion pictures, I have to admit that the cate
gory of Foreign Language Feature always seems to pass me by. Luckily for me, these foreign language films tend to trickle through in to public release much later in the year that the rest of the nominated bunch, so now, a good three months later, I am able to go and see one of the pictures that did not win, but received much critical acclaim during awards season.

Mustang is a Turkish film that tells the story of five orphaned sisters who live with their strict grandmother and uncle in an extremely conservative remote village. Ranging in age from around 10 to mid/late teens, the girls’ relatively fun and free spirited lives are changed forever when their family decides it is time for them to become part of mature society, and their once fun household is turned in to part wife factory, part prison, with bars and locks being installed throughout the house to prevent them from returning to their old friends and activities. Any cinema lover who has seen Sofia Coppola’s 1999 adaptation of The Virgin Suicides will be able to make stark comparisons with both the narrative and the overall tone of Mustang. Not only is it a sombre and at times shocking representation of an archaic kind of patriarchal society, but it is also a gripping and endearing exploration of the strong familial bond that is shared between sisters, especially sisters who are going through a shared traumatic experience. Told mainly through the viewpoint of the youngest sister Lale (Güneş Şensoy), the audience watch as she witnesses the forced marriages and other obstacles faced by her older sisters and grows even more determined to free herself from suffering the same fate. What makes the film rather extraordinary is that within the bleak and oppressive situation around which the narrative revolves, lies a thread of vibrancy and humour that adds a really authentic depth to the story. The beauty and intimacy of the relationship between the sisters is the beating heart of the picture, and the more time the audience get to spend with them, they more they become invested in and heartbroken by the way that their lives are being forcibly guided. Though the extremeness of the family situation may seem a little farfetched to viewers not familiar with such a conservative foreign culture, arguments can be made both for the fact that the film can be seen as an allegory for the very worst elements of patriarchal control, and simply that there are situations like this happening every single day, in conservative corners of the world under the archaic guise of ‘tradition’. Ultimately, what we get in Mustang is a gripping and endearing story that not only introduces you to five absorbing young characters, but also has a lot to say about the danger and tragedy of treating young women as objects to be kept unsullied and eventually traded like bags of sugar.

As the five sisters, Güneş Şensoy, Doğa Doğuşlu, Elit İşcan, Tuğba Sunguroğlu and İlayda Akdoğan give brilliant performances that leave the audience no choice but to become fully emotionally invested in their change of fortunes. The sisterly bond that the actresses manage to create on screen feels utterly real and authentic, each bringing a different personality to the group but ultimately complimenting one another to build an incredible bubble within their turmoil, a bubble that is broken bit by bit as each sister is betrothed to another. Nihau Koldaş as their grandmother and Ayberk Pecan as uncle Erol are the key adult presences in the girls’ lives, and whilst Koldaş as grandmother represents a traditional but more well meaning figure, Pecan as uncle Erol proves to be a depiction of the sinister, hypocritical side of such a culture, taking the girls for ‘virginity checks’ yet appearing to have alarming designs of his own on more than one occasion.

Overall, Mustang is a poignant and affecting drama that, though centred in melancholy and the loss of childhood, is also peppered with lighter moments about the beauty of sisterhood and coming of age that prove to make it an endearing and captivating watch. As far as missing out on the Best Foreign Language Oscar, the picture that beat it must have been a hell of a film because this has flown straight in to my top ten of the year so far.

If you love a dose of sarcasm and movies, these videos are for you.

https://youtu.be/d6GfDq7Dlns