ten projects selected for cinematic scheme

Ten teams of Welsh writers, directors and producers have been shortlisted for Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Cinematic feature film scheme, financed in partnership with the BFI and S4C, with additional support from Fields Park Entertainment and Warner Music Supervision.
 
The slate demonstrates both the diversity of supported talent, and the scope of their stories and styles. Ffilm Cymru Wales representative Adam Partridge remarks, “It really is encouraging to see the breadth of talent from Wales, and to be able to support a wide range of voices and perspectives. The projects range from comedy capers to elevated horror, and even an opera film. We hope there’s something here for everyone!”

The selected projects and teams are:

Crazy Bitch
Director: Prano Bailey-Bond
Writer: Emma Millions
Producer: Helen Jones
A woman’s unexpected pregnancy triggers the haunting memories of a past life that was violently ended at the hands of psychiatric doctors.

Gwrach
Director: Lee Haven Jones
Writer: Siwan Jones
Producer: Roger Williams
A mysterious young woman terrorises her colleagues at a supermarket in this Welsh language horror about the power of nature.

Han’s Dynasty
Writer-Director: Guymon Cheung
Vastly different lives collide in interweaving tales of race, loss and retribution

Lavish
Writer/Director: Margaret Constantas
Composer: Judith Weir
Producers: Margaret Constantas and Philip Cowan
A cinematic opera made up of three allegorical tales set in contemporary Cardiff.

This is Not a True Story
Writer-Director: Ozgur Uyanik
Producers: Gareth I. Davies and Ozgur Uyanik
A Turkish writer estranged from his family and wife holes up in a friend’s apartment in Wales after running away from his personal demons back home.

Nuclear
Director: Catherine Linstrum
Writers: Catherine Linstrum and David John Newman
Producer: Stella Nwimo
In a small village under the shadow of a nuclear power station, a mother and her teenage daughter seek refuge from a brutal attack. But they soon discover that their sanctuary is full of ghosts that threaten to destroy them from the inside out.

The Promise
Director: Gareth Bryn
Writer: Caryl Lewis
Producers: Ed Talfan and Mark Andrew
A young girl endures a bleak and punishing existence in an isolated Welsh community at the end of the 19th century. Finding her prayers to God falling on deaf ears, she turns instead to the Devil.

Sorted
Writer-Director: Keri Collins
Producer: Sarah Brocklehurst
In this comedy caper, two young women trying to pay off their student debt with minimum-wage jobs at the mail sorting office find opportunity in a parcel containing guns and an incriminating photograph of a local politician.

Take Me Home
Writer-Director: David Howard
Producer: Rik Hall
A woman discovers the frozen body of a Martian in her basement, and embarks upon a journey to return him to his home planet.

The Toll
Director: Ryan Hooper
Writer: Matt Redd
Producer: Tom Betts
A darkly-comic thriller about a lone toll-booth operator with a past that is fast catching up with him.

The teams will now progress into the development phase, including training supported by the sector skills council Creative Skillset, and led by experienced facilitator Angus Finney, who manages the annual Production Funding Market and Micromarkets in London. The focus will be on both creatively progressing the work, and carefully considering the market opportunities for the supported projects.  Training providers include a range of industry experts, including experienced producers Julie Baines (Creep, Triangle) and Emily Leo (Under the Shadow), director Ben Parker (The Chamber, OTM Entertainment), and sales and distribution representatives Jezz Vernon (Port Royal London, formerly of Metrodome) and Deborah Rowland (We are the Tonic).

Senior BFI executive, Mary Burke comments “The BFI are happy to continue our support for strong Welsh talent through Cinematic, and we're looking forward to seeing how the projects unfold over the course of development from the teams selected.”

S4C’s Drama Content Commissioner, Gwawr Martha Lloyd adds; "Having taken great pride in the films born out the first Cinematic scheme, S4C is very excited to embark on the second round of stories. Cinematic is an opportunity to bring forward talents in the field of film and I am in no doubt that we will continue to build writing relationships with new and emerging talent, as well as encouraging more experienced writers to step in to world of film for the first time. I can't wait to see the results."

The Cinematic programme will culminate in the selection and production of three of the features that go through development. But as Partridge notes, “The scheme generates more value than the final three films – as it looks to build relationships and ways of working across the pool of talent.” Previous films produced through Cinematic comprise Craig Roberts’ directorial debut Just Jim, Euros Lyn and Fflur Dafydd’s adaptation of Welsh-language novel Y Llyfgrell / The Library Suicides, and Chris Crow’s historical chiller The Lighthouse.