A NEW festival celebrating and championing short film from Wales and further afield will be held in Conwy County this autumn.
The Gogs International Short Film Festival will take place on 26th November, at Colwyn Bay’s Theatr Colwyn, the oldest working cinema in the UK.
The festival, funded by Bay of Colwyn Town Council, will be hosted by BAFTA winning actor, screenwriter and director Celyn Jones.
Celyn, Patron of Theatr Colwyn and Creative Director of festival partner, Mad As Birds Films, will present the trophies to the winners of the seven categories in competition, which include Best Welsh Language Short, Best Welsh Made Short and Best UK Made Short. He’ll also host the end of festival Q&A.
Celyn said:
“This could become Wales’s BIFA awards… a celebration of local and international independent film at an iconic cinema. Really looking forward to seeing and sharing the new work. A great opportunity to showcase new talent and proof that anything is possible. I hope someone makes a t-shirt that says ‘Film has gone to the Gogs’ because I want one.”
The festival is a joint production by Theatr Colwyn and Mad As Birds Films, which has a base in Llandudno and on the Wirral.
The company’s film credits include the Eddie Izzard and Judi Dench drama ‘Six Minutes to Midnight’, ‘Set Fire To The Stars’ with Elijah Wood, the BAFTA-nominated ‘The Vanishing’ with Gerard Butler and Peter Mullan and the new drama ‘The Almond and the Seahorse’ starring Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg, which Celyn co-directed, co-wrote and stars in opposite Wilson.
Andy Evans, of Mad as Birds Films and a Festival Director, said:
“Cel and I are from North Wales and Theatr Colwyn has always supported every one of our films by screening them, along with adding Q&A’s which always bring a smart and enthusiastic audience. It’s a great venue, run by great people, in a great part of the world… So creating a new film festival together made complete sense to us. May it long continue and grow into something special.”
Theatr Colwyn, which was built in the 1880s, first started showing films in January 1909. This will be the venue’s first in-house film festival.
Sarah Ecob, Head of Economy and Culture at Conwy County Borough Council and a Festival Director, said:
“We are excited to continue building the legacy of Theatr Colwyn by supporting and celebrating filmmakers from Wales and beyond. We can’t wait to see the submissions and look forward to sharing the work of the winners in the autumn.”
Filmmaker submissions for competition are already open and can be made via Freeway at www.thegogs.org
Audience tickets will be on sale soon via Theatr Colwyn’s box office.
