Nia Edwards-Behi, co-director of the Abertoir Horror Festival and programmer for the Wales One World Film Festival, writes for Buzz in collaboration with Film Hub Wales about the fluctuating history of Welsh-language cinema, concerns of a “cultural void”, and the hope that the release of Effi O Blaenau this month might spark an uptick.
Though there were pioneers of cinema working in Wales in the medium’s earliest days, it was 1935 before the first Welsh-language film was produced, namely Y Chwarelwr (directed by Ifan ab Owen Edwards). Over a decade later came the next, Yr Etifeddiaeth (John Roberts Williams, 1949), followed by Noson Lawen (G. Mark Lloyd, 1950).
Two decades later, some of the nation’s greats recognised the power of cinema in the fight for language rights and established the Welsh Film Board. Despite their heroic efforts in the 70s and 80s – which included producing cult films Gwaed Ar Y Sêr and O’r Daear Hen (Wil Aaron, 1975 & 1981) – there was little official support for their work. And almost a century after Y Chwarlewr, and filmed in the same area, comes Effi O Blaenau, directed by Marc Evans and adapted by Gary Owen from his stage play, Iphigenia In Splott.
The Welsh language has received relative prominence on the big screen recently, thanks in the main to Gwledd (2021) and Y Sŵn (2023), both collaborations between director Lee Haven Jones and writer Roger Williams. It’s unusual, however, that Effi reaches the big screen less than a year since another Welsh language film – namely Tanau’r Lloer (Chris Forster, 2025). The last time this happened, as far as I know, was a decade ago, with Yr Ymadawiad (Gareth Bryn) and Y Llyfrgell (Euros Lyn); before that, 2008. It’s veryrare to get to see more than one Welsh-language film in cinemas in a year – often, indeed, there’ll be none.
Since the arrival of S4C in the 1980s, and official recognition for Welsh-language rights, the last four decades have seen what feels like significant screen activity in Welsh. It’s fair to say that the small screen dominates in this regard, whether that’s television, computer or phone. We’re fortunate in Wales that so many independent cinemas are willing and able to hold special or one-off screenings, as this is often the only way to see Welsh-language films on the big screen. Rare are the Welsh language films that are widely released, by a ‘major’ distributor.
There is a loss to culture when its imagination cannot be seen on the big screen. For some, there might not be a difference between watching a film in the cinema and watching a series on one’s phone, but that’s a sad perspective. Being able to come together, to watch and listen to ourselves, in the sacred space of the cinema, is an experience that cannot be recreated elsewhere, no matter how good our home entertainment systems.
Without hearing the Welsh language – and all its accents and dialects – in the cinema, an idea grows that there is no such thing as a Welsh-language film, and that the cinema is not the place for its speakers. There is a cultural void, for us, and for the rest of the world.
I’m not from Blaenau Ffestiniog, but perhaps one of my favourite things about Effi – as well as its gripping story and brilliant performance by Leisa Gwenllian – was how familiar it felt. From the tunnels of the A55, to Victoria Dock, to nain watching Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol, to every single Welshified swear word that comes from Effi’s mouth – the film, despite its tragedy (she’s based on a Greek heroine, after all), is comfortable.
The sheer pleasure of recognising locations, characters, familiar vocabulary in a film is unparalleled. No matter how cynical one gets, the frisson of recognising a little something of ourselves in a film is important, and being able to do that in a cinema full of other people feels even more essential. It creates a temporary community, in the dark, allowing for cultivation, creation, and reinforcement of communities in the light of day.
Effi O Blaenau is released in cinemas on Fri 19 June; its Welsh premiere is at Cellb, Blaenau Ffestiniog, on Wed 17.
Info: here
This article was commissioned by Film Hub Wales as part of its Made In Wales project, which celebrates films with Welsh connections, thanks to funding from Creative Wales and the National Lottery via the BFI.
words NIA EDWARDS-BEHI
