Up in Wrexham, the International Film Festival Of Wales returns for another packed day of cinematic events next week, ranging from full features to shorts and music promos, as Keiron Self elaborates.
Founded in 2006 to support Welsh filmic talent, and originally based in Newport, the International Film Festival Of Wales presents its 20th consecutive edition. Promoting and supporting independent filmmaking, this year the festival is back in Wrexham, where it’ll once again offer screenings of short films from homegrown talent alongside networking events.
Films being shown this year include the excellent Justice, from director Eleri B Jones and writer Tori Lyons; starring Lyons and Katie Elin Salt, it deals with thorny issues of abuse and cyclical violence amidst a patriarchal society.
Other fiction shorts cover various genres: sci-fi in Cortex Alpha, from director Omar Bradosti; dark thriller in The Etiquette Of Murder, from directing duo Jordan Roberts and Helena Hill; Sullivan Tarrant’s coming-of-age drama Finn, where two childhood friends test their bonds; and family trauma from Sander Blom, as a father and daughter attempt to rekindle their relationship in the scenic grandeur of Yr Wyddfa.
Documentaries cover the origin of the Mari Llwyd, aka the very scary horse head skeleton Welsh tradition that summons the winter solstice, and the miners of Maerdy Colliery as they struggle through 1985s miners’ strike. There are also music videos from Henry Coke and Martyn Thomas, and a flight of neon fancy from Terry Blade with Blur Theory.
Small in scale, but with its own awards ceremony and chances to meet and chat with other independent film makers, this is still going strong, heading towards its next decade in existence.
International Film Festival Of Wales, Odeon, Wrexham, Sat 3 Oct.
Tickets: £5-£10 (available here). More info here.
words KEIRON SELF
