Dave Evans, the Artistic Director of the Wales International Documentary Festival, speaks with Luke Owain Boult about the new festival and the Welsh documentary scene.
How would you describe the Wales International Documentary Festival?
It’s a documentary festival that aims to bring the best of documentary talent to Wales and particularly to Blackwood.
Why in particular was Blackwood chosen?
Blackwood is an amazing place really; it’s got an interesting cultural tradition, it’s got the Blackwood Miners’ Institute and it’s held onto that and that is very much the creative and cultural focus of the community, but also it’s got the Maxime Cinema a couple of hundred yards down the road, which is an old cinema that’s been refurbished. It’s a popular place, it’s got five screens. I was looking for a good small place which was well served by transport, but also a little bit off the beaten track. I was thinking of places like Hay, and we are very much inspired by some of these documentary festivals that we’ve been to in really out of the way places in Europe.
What’s the aim of the festival?
We’d like to give an opportunity to promote documentary film culture in the local area so we can give people an opportunity to see films that are not being shown on direct TV, and also to provide networking opportunities, and networking opportunities for Welsh film with the rest of the world. The networking possibilities are a really important part of the festival, but it also aims to have enough popular products to get the community involved.

How can towns like Blackwood thrive in a post-industrial world?
That’s a big question. I think by re-inventing themselves like the rest of Wales. In some ways as communities like Blackwood are emblematic of the whole country, if we haven’t got coal or steel what can we do. What we’ve got is a fantastic kind of cultural opportunity and cultural tradition that will allow us to re-invent ourselves.
Are there any entries to the festival so far that stand out as favourites for you?
I couldn’t possibly say, but I can say that obviously we’re showing No Manifesto, which is the Manic Street Preachers documentary. There’s an amazing Czech film called Always Together, which is about a family that goes off grid and it’s really worth seeing. We’ve got a Welsh Premiere of a film called Mavis, which is about Mavis Staples the soul singer, and we’re also working with the Northern Soul Club in South Wales to put on an after party after that. I really like Free which is a Croatian film about people with learning difficulties leaving an institution and going to live on their own for the first time. I think that’s a really sweet film.
Have you always been interested in documentary film?
I’m a documentary film maker. For the last couple of years, I’ve had projects going round film festivals around Europe and North America, so I’ve been visiting a lot of festivals and kind of thought this is something that could really work in a Welsh context. I’m also working with a lot with young filmmakers so I know there’s a lot of talent coming out of places like the Newport Film School, so it’s just another platform for promoting that talent. I mean there really is a kind of golden period for documentary filmmakers, not just in Wales but all around the world as there’s just so much young talent out there and a lot of that is coming out of the film schools, from the University of South Wales, and in Newport film school where Chris Morris, John Bergen, and Tyler Lewis over the last couple of years have really created a strong identity for that school. There’s so much energy and creativity coming from those students, and it’s just another platform for them.
Wales International Documentary Festival, Blackwood, Thurs 12-Sat 14 May.
Tickets: Prices vary per event. Info: www.widf.info