Living in Wales I have a passion for home frown movie makers and movies that are made in Wales and today I bring you some amazing news that Fflim Ifanc is on tour with a great list of venues in Wales to promote the first screening from a great selection of filmmakers.
The last few years have been a strain on the industry, but now that the cinemas have come back to life, there is a lot to celebrate within Welsh filmmaking, with notorious major horror releases like Censor, Saint Maud and The Feast highlighting Welsh talent in a booming indie scene. Young filmmakers and young curators from all over Wales have joined forces under the banner of Ffilm Ifanc to showcase the triumphant films of the next generation of young filmmaking talent here in Wales. Ffilm Ifanc is giving a voice to the young people (15-27) of Wales, making them a part of the growing film and media landscape that Wales is forming.
Ffilm Ifanc will be launching their tour programme at selected venues all over Wales with their first screenings at Pontio (Bangor) on Wednesday 8th December starting at 7 pm. After Pontio, the tour will visit Ty Pawb (Wrexham) on 13th January, Cell B (Blaenau Ffestiniog) on 18th January, Yr Egin (Carmarthen) on 25th January, Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 29th January, Torch Theatre (Milford Haven) on 1st February. This tour will offer new opportunities and support for young filmmakers to get their films onto the big screen and in front of new audiences.
“We are able to show films from young people who have the ability to change the world. We are allowing the voices of tomorrow to have a platform to show what they’re capable of. It is amazing being part of something that wants to see change and development,” Ellie Lancaster, Ffilm Ifanc Member.
Thomas Elliot Griffiths is a young filmmaker and director of The Break and Sticks and Feathers. One of Thomas’s films will be part of the touring programme. Thomas told us, “Events like the Ffilm Ifanc team have curated here are so important for the culture and creative growth of Wales. They’ve done a tremendous service to young filmmakers in Wales and the stories they strive to tell. To be part of something like this fills my heart with pride, and I am extremely grateful to have my work professionally presented to new audiences around the country.“
“Mae bod yn rhan o Ffilm Ifanc wedi bod yn broses anhygoel. Rwyf wedi cwrdd nifer o bobl sydd – fel fi – eisiau bod yn rhan o arddangos talentau pobl Ifanc yng Nghymru”
Rhiannon Wyn Hughes, MBE, director of the Wicked Wales International Youth Film Festival, which screens short films made by young filmmakers from all over the world, told us, “We have been aware for many years of the many talented young filmmakers we have in Wales who were making films. Ffilm Ifanc now provides new opportunities, curated by young people, to get these films put onto the big screen. This happens first with the tour in Wales, and then we want to support Wales’s young talent onto a global stage.”
Ffilm Ifanc has been developed with support from the Wales Youth Festival Network co-ordinator Lorraine Mahoney and Wicked Wales Films, Film Hub Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
