Made in Wales: Celebrating Films with Welsh Connections – Details, episodes & analysis

In this discussion, documentary filmmaker  Liana Stewart, and programmer/curator Yvonne Connikie, discuss Black Welsh film talent, including established and emerging talent to watch out for, the challenges and barriers created by structural inequality, and their impressions of BAFTA-winning director Rungano Nyoni’s second feature film, ‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.’

Released on 6 December, 'On Becoming a Guinea Fowl' is a compelling drama about community and sisterhood. Driving home from a party one night, Shula seems unfazed by the sight of her uncle’s dead body on the deserted road. While preparations are made for his funeral, she finds herself plunged into the hidden secrets of her family. As tensions rise, Shula and her cousin Nsansa join forces to reconcile the past for a more hopeful future. A fierce and darkly funny portrait of one woman’s strength in the face of crisis, Nyoni’s award-winning second feature proves her to be a distinctive filmmaker blazing a unique trail.

'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

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'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this second part of a two-part episode, director of the film Gordon Main, Wales' first black female councillor and powerful advocate for ethnic minority women in Wales, Gaynor Legal, and award-winning documentary filmmaker Prof Florence Ayisi, discuss racism, apartheid, community and freedom. This podcast was recorded on 31 October 2024.

Released on 22 November 2024, as a People's Release, London Recruits tells the story of Oliver Tambo’s daring, non-violent strategy to bring hope to his embattled people in South Africa. At the height of apartheid, late sixties/early ‘70s, an international group of working-class students and workers living in London answered Tambo’s secret call for undercover agents.

Make sure to subscribe for more conversations! Find the video version of this Q&A, on our Youtube very soon.

'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this first part of a two-part episode, director of the film Gordon Main, Wales' first black female councillor and powerful advocate for ethnic minority women in Wales, Gaynor Legal, and award-winning documentary filmmaker Prof Florence Ayisi, discuss  racism, apartheid, community and freedom. This podcast was recorded on 31 October 2024.

Released on 22 November 2024, as a People's Release, London Recruits tells the story of Oliver Tambo’s daring, non-violent strategy to bring hope to his embattled people in South Africa. At the height of apartheid, late sixties/early ‘70s, an international group of working-class students and workers living in London answered Tambo’s secret call for undercover agents.

Make sure to subscribe for more conversations! Find the video version of this Q&A, on our Youtube very soon.

'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this episode, artist and writer Aiman Rahim spoke with the director of India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency, Ila Mehrotra, recorded on 21 October 2024. 

Releasing on 13 November 2024, at the start of Transgender Awareness Week, Ila's documentary is a nuanced exploration into the experiences of the transgender Hijra population in India, filmed over the course of seven years. Whilst traditional Hindu society recognises the ancient Hijra identity as a legal ‘third sex’ — a community of holy hermaphrodites — this does not mean acceptance. 

Make sure to subscribe for more conversations! Find the video version of this Q&A, on our Youtube.

'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

We sat down to talk about Welsh westerns with screen writer Matt Redd and Director Ryan Andrew Hooper. Their darkly-comic thriller – The Toll, about a lone toll-booth operator with a past that is fast catching up with him, will be released in the UK on August 27th.

They’re joined by Lewis Carter and Kristian Kane who co-directed Showdown (written by Carter) which screened alongside The Toll in select cinemas. Showdown is a short film about a young autistic boy with a passion for western films who is faced with a showdown for the soul of his village, in the local corner shop.

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'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this episode, from the team at Cardiff animation studio, Bumpybox we're joined by Welsh Senior Concept Artist/Art Director, Michael Shorten and Lead Compositor Neil Martin to talk about their work on 'Kensuke's Kingdom' a gripping hand-drawn animated tale with its message of working together to protect nature, which has never felt more relevant.
 
'Kensuke's Kingdom' will be released in UK cinemas on the 2nd August 2024.

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'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this episode, director Janis Pugh discusses her new film 'Chuck Chuck Baby,' a film of love, loss, music, and female friendship, set in and around the falling feathers of a chicken processing plant in industrial north Wales.

'Chuck Chuck Baby' will be released in UK cinemas on the 19th July 2024.

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'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this episode, directors Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd discuss their new film 'Unicorns,' a “visually daring and heartfelt portrayal of modern masculinity” following a queer South Asian club performer living a double life who meets a straight, single-father mechanic, in a chance encounter.

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'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

In this episode, director and star Celyn Jones discussing his new film 'The Almond and the Seahorse,' including casting Rebel Wilson in her first dramatic role.

'The Almond and the Seahorse' will be released in UK cinemas on the 10th May 2024.

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Writer and presenter Danielle Fahiya chaired a discussion with Severn Screen producers Hannah Thomas and Ed Talfan, and director Marc Evans. This audio podcast explores Mr Burton’s Welsh connections, how the filmmakers maintained authenticity to the true story of Richard and Phillip Burton, working with Kate Burton, Richard’s daughter, and how the film spotlights Welsh storytelling and history.

Released on 4 April 2025, the film charts Richard Burton’s school years and his lasting relationship with tutor and ‘chosen father’ Phillip Burton who helped him to discover acting. This moving drama explores love and loss, ambition and addiction, all set in the beautiful valleys of South Wales.

Find a screening near you: mrburtonfilm.co.uk

'Made in Wales' is a Film Hub Wales project, celebrating films with Welsh connections. It is supported by funding from Creative Wales and National Lottery funding via the BFI.

Subscribe for more conversations about Welsh-connected film! Check out our other content on The Whole Story.