New short films from Wales spark into production through Beacons scheme

These six shorts from distinctive new voices in Welsh film tell cinematic stories through multiple languages and creative forms, including live-action, animation and documentary. 
 
“From coming-of-age drama to revenge thriller, rural horror, anime and stop-motion documentary, our new short film commissions are united by a flair for big screen storytelling,” says BFI NETWORK Wales Manager, Jude Lister. “We’ve continued to see a particularly exciting range of animations come through, reflecting the strength of talent in Wales. I would like to congratulate the filmmakers who worked hard on developing their projects, all of whom are ones to watch as they progress in the industry.”    

Dim Ond Ti a Mi

Writer/Director: Griff Lynch    

In this Welsh-language horror, a clash of values and cultures unfolds in a remote farmhouse as Mabli takes a trip to meet her boyfriend’s family.

Writer/Director Griff Lynch, who has directed shorts, documentaries and music videos for Channel 4, Amazon Prime, S4C, Nowness, RTE and the BBC, says “Horror is a genre I feel has changed dramatically over the past decade, becoming a much more subjective way of telling a story. I never like to be too blunt with my work, and hopefully this film will fit nicely into that ‘elevated horror’ style of filmmaking. It’s so obvious that Wales and the Welsh language should be able to produce good horror stories, and I really want to be involved in telling those to a wider audience outside Wales.”

Follow The Dogs    

Writer/Director: Isabel Garrett
Producer: Sue Gainsborough

This part-animated documentary explores cancer patient Warren Hastings' relationship with healthcare and creativity as he recovers from treatment.

Writer/Director Isabel Garrett, who has a background in animated storytelling and has directed stop-motion commissions for Channel 4, Alexander McQueen, The Eels and Amazon, says: "I’m over the moon that we’ve been selected as one of the Beacons short film commissions. Warren’s story is one that’s particularly close to my heart, it’s wonderful to have this support to do it justice. The development period with the Beacons and Ffilm Cymru team has been so valuable already, can’t wait to get into production!"

Mother's Day    

Writer: Emily Burnett    
Director: Darragh Mortell    
Producer: Laura Southgate 

A space-loving young boy must navigate a new world when his mum suddenly suffers a mental health crisis and his gran returns from the Caribbean to take care of him.

Writer Emily Burnett was recently commissioned to write for GALWAD, while director Darragh Mortell second unit directed Craig Roberts’ The Phantom of the Open. Emily says: “I am so excited to bring this very personal story to life with such an extraordinary team of humans. Ever since I started writing I’ve been yearning to tell this story of resilience, love, growing up mixed race in Cardiff…and flying saucers. We hope it will offer a new perspective on the complexities of a child’s experience navigating a parent's mental health."

Passenger

Writer/Director: Nia Alavezos    
Producer: Louis Jones 

In this anime-inspired animation, a vengeful spirit tries to possess Cora’s body, but over time they form a dysfunctional relationship.

Writer/Director Nia Alavezos, who directed Sun & Moon Studio's Christmas short film Timeless Gifts, says:  "It means a lot that Ffilm Cymru Wales are giving us this opportunity to bring Passenger to life. This film is inspired by a challenging period in my life and from my immense love of Japanese culture and anime. It’s also about trying to focus on the present, tackle one day at a time, and, in the case of Passenger, fight off those unwelcome spirits. I hope this is the first of many anime films to come through Wales, and lead to collaborations with Japan in the future. Let's go, team!"

Treading Water

Writer/Director: Toby Cameron    
Producer: Simon Pax McDowell 

Dylan is haunted by traumatic flashbacks of a vicious attack he witnessed as a child. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, he goes on a cathartic journey to help save his job, his marriage and his mind.

BAFTA Cymru award nominated Writer/Director Toby Cameron has made films for BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and S4C, and says: “It's been a joy to develop the script to the place it is now, I feel it's moved it closer to what I intended to do when I originally wrote it. It means so much that my vision for Treading Water has not only been validated by BBC Wales, BFI Network and Ffilm Cymru, but also encouraged and supported. I cannot wait to make what I know will be an amazing and thrilling short film. This will not only help develop my career but also the wider On Par team who will be involved in the production."

Crybaby

Writer/Director: Eleri Edwards    
Producer: Tom Stubbs 

Fully commissioned by Ffilm Cymru & BFI NETWORK Wales, Crybaby is an animated film about a woman learning to understand herself better after being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 25.

Writer/Director Eleri Edwards says: "Crybaby started as a way to document my experience from childhood right up to my official diagnosis. I'm excited to be commissioned by Ffilm Cymru to make this film happen, and I hope it can make people laugh as well as raise awareness how autism can affect women and girls."

Nick Andrews, BBC Cymru Wales Head of Commissioning, adds “It’s a tribute to the creatives involved with Beacons that the shortlist has such terrific range. They will be seen across the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC Cymru Wales couldn’t be more proud to support this next generation of talent.”

Ten Beacons short films from Wales are currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer, including the latest additions of Samantha O'Rourke’s north Walian LGBTQ+ comedy Jelly, Nan Moore’s dark drama Seats, Mac Nixon’s BAFTA Cymru award nominated thriller Jackdaw, and Zillah Bowes’ portrait of rural community Staying (Aros Mae).