Ffilm Cymru commissions new short films and opens latest funding round

Ffilm Cymru’s Beacons short film scheme shines a light on Welsh talent, supporting emerging filmmakers from Wales to make a cinematic calling card with funding, training and advice. The latest Beacons round is now open for applications and looking for outstanding live-action, documentary and animated short film projects.

BFI NETWORK Wales Manager Jude Lister says, “The latest commissioned short films are testament to the incredible range of creative talent that we’re proud to support through Beacons. Following a very challenging year for film, we’re delighted to reopen for applications and can’t wait to discover new filmmakers and stories coming from Wales.”

From a documentary portrait of local life to dark horror comedy, the latest projects commissioned through Beacons are:

Forest Coal Pit

Director: Sion Marshall-Waters
Producer: Jessica Wheeler
Executive Producers: Alice Lusher and Catryn Ramasut, ie ie productions
A documentary exploring the hyperlocal lifeworld of two elderly farming brothers on the edges of the Black Mountains.

Jackdaw

Writer/Director: Mac Nixon
Producers: Ed Casey, Dan Bailey
A troubled vagabond who helps strangers bring an end to their suffering is forced into a reckoning with his own moral duties as a father.

Light Before Sunrise

Writer/Director: Charlotte James
Len and Bambi are hungry for freedom and searching for something – until one night, their eyes are opened to the dangerous possible consequences of their behaviour.

Organic

Creative team: Mike Williams, Will Clowes, Alaw Llewelyn
A Welsh-language horror comedy about a farmer in North Wales losing control of his crops. Buy fresh. Buy Local. Buy Hand.

Ymenydd

Writer/Director: Laura Tofarides
Producer: Nia Alavezos
Executive Producer: Helen Brunsdon
When memories of her past become too much, an overdose forces Rhi to face the demons in her own mind before they destroy her.

Successful short films previously produced through Beacons include Lauren Orme’s animation Creepy Pasta Salad, which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Best Short Animation BAFTA award, Jay Bedwani’s LGBT+ Elvis impersonator documentary Pink Suede Shoes, and Rhys Marc Jones’ drama Father of the Bride, which premiered at SXSW 2020. Several filmmakers commissioned through Beacons have gone on to make flourishing debut features with support from Ffilm Cymru, including Rungano Nyoni (I Am Not a Witch, winner of the Outstanding Debut Feature BAFTA award), Catherine Linstrum (Nuclear), and Ryan Andrew Hooper and Matt Redd (The Toll).

A series of six Beacons shorts is currently available to stream free on BBC iPlayer, featuring Hannah Daniel and Georgia Lee’s dark comedy Burial, Sion Thomas’ farming drama Dirt Ash Meat, Tina Pasotra’s story of empowerment and resilience I Choose, Joseph Ollman’s coming-of-age thriller Bitter Sky, Clare Sturges’ poignant exploration of grief The Arborist, and Efa Blosse-Mason’s charming animated love story Cwch Deilen.

Nick Andrews, BBC Cymru Wales Head of Commissioning, says “On iPlayer, right now, are a selection of punchy, funny, beautiful short films made by Wales’ brightest and best new talent. The ‘Beacons’ initiative has not only enabled us to super charge their development but also treated the audience across the UK with a unique collection of stories. It’s fantastic to be involved and we’re really looking forward to seeing what comes next.”