There’s a whole host of great Welsh-based film and TV coming out over the next few months. Fedor Tot rounds up a few of the highlights of the calendar.
WILD HONEY PIE
Released Fri 14 June
Directed and written by Porthcawl-based Jamie Adams, this comedy/drama looks to be as much of a vehicle for the talents of leading star Jemima Clarke, who you might remember from her appearances in Girls and leading role in Tiny Furniture. Here she plays Gillian, married to Oliver (Richard Elis). The two are drifting – he is a smalltime DJ, she’s an aspiring writer whose career has mostly stalled, until she has the bright idea to kick off a Shakespeare festival. Jamie Adams has fine form with quirky British dramedy – his previous work includes Black Mountain Poets, which starred the ever-brilliant Alice Lowe, who gets a supporting role here.
YEARS AND YEARS
(On Tuesdays, 9pm, BBC One, catchup on iPlayer)
Russell T. Davies returns with some of the most cracking and addictive TV around. Following a single family from 2019 through to 2034, as the world undergoes political and environmental catastrophe alongside a healthy dose of war, this ambitious drama takes inspiration from such disparate sources as Black Mirror and old-school melodrama. And a brilliant show it is too – pitched at a fine balance between bonkers OTT and smart satire, it’s a minor miracle from one of the UK’s finest writers.
GWEN
(Out Fri 19 July)
A feature debut from William McGregor, this is a taut and finely-poised gothic drama, set in the misty and claustrophobic confines of a cottage high up in Snowdonia, sometime in the 19th century. At its heart are two stunning central performances by Maxine Peake (sporting a spot-on Welsh accent) and newcomer Eleanor Worthington-Cox. Further info to come next issue.
GOOD OMENS
(Out Fri 31 May on Amazon Prime)
Admittedly, the Welsh connection here starts and stops at Michael Sheen, but any excuse to watch him is a good one. Here, he stars as an angel alongside David Tennant as a devil, teaming up to stop the apocalypse. Written by Neil Gaiman, adapting from his co-written book with Terry Pratchett and carrying out the deceased author’s wishes, it’s sure to be a funny and fantastical romp, the go-to shout to fill the immediate post-Game Of Thrones vacuum.