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.
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