WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 15 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 18 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, APRIL 25 – 10 PM
Welsh-language film and television have historically been fraught with challenges, including persistent underfunding and a lack of effective infrastructure, compounded by the British government’s reluctance to support Welsh culture in media. There has also been a notable hesitation among British distributors to handle Welsh films, further restricting their exposure to international audiences. Director Wil Aaron stated in the Welsh magazine Barn: “There will be no further developments in Welsh-language film until the BFI is persuaded that the Welsh have as much right as the English to their own celluloid culture.” This sentiment drove Aaron to create the independent television company Ffilmiau’r Nan in 1976.
In 1952, when the BBC launched a transmitter in Glamorgan, Welsh-language television programming was minimal, peaking at just half an hour per week by 1957. The establishment of BBC Wales in 1962 allowed a slight increase, but the struggle for substantial recognition and funding persisted. Throughout the 1970s, a campaign for a dedicated Welsh-language channel gained traction, driven by groups like Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg and Plaid Cymru. However, political pledges often went unfulfilled, with Thatcher’s Conservative government backtracking on commitments made during the 1979 elections. This led to significant unrest, culminating in a protest by Gwynfor Evans, who threatened to fast until the promise of a Welsh channel was realized (dramatized in the 2023 film Y SWN).
During this period, Welsh-language films were virtually nonexistent, prompting the establishment of the Welsh Film Board (Bwrdd Ffilmiau Cymraeg) in 1971. Unfortunately, the British Film Institute perceived the WFB as a “language activity rather than a film project,” and its initiatives were underfunded. Aaron, a member of the WFB, produced four films with their support, including the two featured in this retrospective, but he remained disillusioned with the organization’s approach, famously stating, “The board has no expertise, no experience of the film.”
In 1982, the Welsh language television channel S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru – Channel Four Wales) was finally established, broadcasting 22 hours a week and prioritizing Welsh programming over English-language shows. Through Ffilmiau’r Nant, Aaron started producing for the channel very early on, including shows such as ALMANAC (1982-1986), C’MON MIDFIELD! (1988-1994) and DERYN (1986-1992). In his book Wales and Cinema: The First 100 Years, David Berry writes: “Ffilmiau’r Nant has become one of S4C’s most prolific independent suppliers of films.”
Today, S4C continues to thrive, broadcasting 115 hours of Welsh programming each week, including news broadcasts and original programming. Despite this robust, Welsh-language cinema remains underrepresented, with films still struggling to receive widespread distribution and filmmakers often facing challenges securing adequate funding. Nevertheless, there have been notable recent successes, particularly with the critically acclaimed THE FEAST (2021). This underscores the vibrant creativity in Welsh cinema and the appetite for it when it is supported effectively. This April, Spectacle proudly presents two of Aaron’s Welsh-language films produced through the WFB.
O’R DDAEAR HEN
(FROM THE OLD EARTH)
Dir. Wil Aaron, 1981
Wales, 47 min
In Cymraeg with English subtitles
William Jones discovers an ancient Celtic stone head in his garden, with horrifying consequences. Can the local archeologists help him shake an ancient curse?
O’R DDAEAR HEN is steeped in Welsh folklore and tradition, and is probably the first true horror film to be produced in the Welsh language. In Wales and Cinema, Berry calls the film “a work of undoubted flair.” The plot echoes the classic ghost stories of M.R. James, featuring an unsuspecting character who unearths an ancient artifact, only to find that the past has come back to haunt them. Although the quality of films from the WFB was often scrutinized (even by Aaron himself), O’R DDAEAR HEN would seamlessly fit into the BBC’s original run of A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS (1971-1978).
The film was one of Aaron’s first works showcased on S4C. While it received acclaim, not all screenings were met positively. One mission of the WFB was to expose children to the Welsh language, which involved organizing school trips to view their films. The trip to watch O’R DDAEAR HEN has become notorious for traumatizing a generation of kids. Mari Williams, one such child now in her 40s, reminisced about her experience in a BBC article, stating, “I remember lying in my bed that night numb with fear, certain that a man with horns was standing outside the bedroom.”
GWAED AR Y SER
(BLOOD ON THE STARS)
Dir. Wil Aaron, 1975
Wales, 60 min
In Cymraeg with English subtitles
Welsh celebrities from all over are scheduled to perform at a local talent show. Then, one by one, they turn up dead in increasingly bizarre ways.
Aaron masterfully walks the line between horror and the blackest of comedy in this equally charming and deranged film. Berry wrote that it “delivers the robust gags, the shameless ironies and the shocks with such gusto.” This is even more remarkable given the meager budget of only £6,000 and the shooting schedule of just ten days. Many of the actors are Nantperis locals, with most of the celebrities played by Aaron’s friends from his years in broadcast TV.
The WFB also screened this film for schoolchildren in 1975. While it did not provoke the same outcry as O’R DDAEAR HEN, it still managed to traumatize viewers and get multiple complaints from parents. Aaron commented, “The problem with Welsh films at that time was that everyone assumed they were the kind of thing that was shown in Sunday School. Did no one consider that there might not be a little bit of sex and a little bit of fear in them…”
This 2K restoration was produced by Severin Films with the support of Matchbox Cineclub. It was restored using the original camera negative and original mono track negatives. All the elements were provided courtesy of the Bwrdd Ffilmiau Cymraeg/Welsh Film Board collection at the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive.
