Tragedy meets ‘social realism’ in Welsh-language film hailed a ‘sensation’
Tarian Cyf / S4C
Leisa Gwenllian stars as Effi
The director of a new Welsh-language film released in cinemas across the UK says the reaction has been “amazing”.
Effi o Blaenau follows a young woman – Effi – as she grapples with unemployment in the north Wales town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, before a night out drinking dramatically alters her life.
Time Out said the film was a cross between “Greek tragedy” and “British social realism”, calling actress Leisa Gwenllian – who portrays Effi – “formidable”, while The Guardian described the film as a “sensation”.
Gwenllian said she hoped the language and landscapes of Wales would draw people in, adding: “[People] have not really heard these sounds before or seen these amazing views.”
Tarian Cyf / S4C
Gwenllian previously appeared in Sky’s Under Salt Marsh
Effi o Blaenau (Effi from Blaenau) is an adaptation of Gary Owen’s play, Iphigenia in Splott, but relocated from Cardiff to Gwynedd.
Directed by Marc Evans, whose previous work includes Mr Burton, the film follows Effi as she navigates being out of work, clubbing and hangovers.
A chance encounter at a nightclub with injured soldier Lee, played by actor Tom Rhys Harries, gives Effi a brief glimpse at a different life – until a difficult reality follows.
Evans said the distribution of the film, at major cinemas across the UK from Friday 19 June, was “amazing”.
“One of the ambitions of making a film in Welsh is that it’s not just shown to Welsh people… it travels,” he said.
“One of the joys of cinema is being transported to a place that you didn’t know of before or another culture, another language.”
Getty Images
Tom Rhys Harries, of Netflix’s White Lines, appears in the film alongside Gwenllian
Evans said the main theme of the film was poverty, but while it “sounds a bit grim, it’s not”.
“It’s about somebody who’s poor and a young woman who’s trying to navigate life,” he said.
“It’s a very life-affirming film, but it’s a challenging film.”
He added: “This [film] is about isolation and of course where the Welsh language is at its strongest is in isolated places like Blaenau Ffestiniog.
“So we went to Blaenau because it’s such a Welsh town, it’s where people love and live in Welsh.”
Gwenllian saw the original play at the Lyric Hammersmith in London.
“I saw they were making a film about Effi, and it was in the Welsh language.. I just thought ‘Oh I must get this part’ and it was north Welsh as well, it was my dialect,” she said.
“And about Blaenau which is such a cool place. There’s such an extraordinary energy to the place.”
Getty
The atmospheric slate landscape of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, is the setting for the film
“There was no other way we could have told this story about this woman in this part of the world without it being in Welsh,” added Gwenllian.
“And I think, if anything, it’s just going to draw people in more because it’s more interesting to people… they’ve not really heard these sounds before or seen these amazing views before.”
Evans said the post-industrial town was visually stunning.
“You look at Blaenau and you see the slate, you see where the industry used to be… but a strong community. So Blaenau was the place.”
Tarian Cyf / S4C
Gwenllian says she hopes Welsh-language films become “the norm”
The film will have English-language subtitles, which Evans said was no longer “such a weird and arty thing”.
“People have got used to subtitles on television I think,” he said.
“And it’s great to see a Welsh language film lined up against films from other countries.”
Gwenllian added: “I just hope that this becomes the norm now.
“That we make more Welsh language films and that it’s really normal to walk into an Odeon in – I don’t know, Sheffield – and you see a Welsh language film there.”
