INDUSTRY FIRESIDE CHAT
FIRESIDE CHAT
Creative director and CEO of production company Severn Screen reflects on Wales’ evolving production landscape, the need to nurture local talent and taking meaningful action on sustainability INTERVIEW NICOLA FOLEY
DEFINITION: How has the production landscape in Wales
Ffilm Cymru Wales, we also offer training opportunities on all of our projects. We want to see Welsh talent succeeding on the global stage – so as an industry, we have to make sure we’re investing in new voices and providing a platform for that talent to be seen and heard. It’s also worth saying that there are significant socioeconomic challenges in Wales. The statistic we never lose sight of is that almost a third of children in Wales grow up in poverty. So we have a vested interest in bringing inward investment into Wales and supporting local crews and suppliers whenever we can. DEF: You’ve worked with a range of partners, including BBC Films, All 3 Media, XYZ Films and S4C. What’s the key to a great co-production relationship, and how do you protect your voice when working with such a variety of collaborators? ET: Whoever you’re working with, it’s all about trust. When that’s in place, you can be pretty sure it’s going to be a good experience.
evolved over the past few years? Are things improving in terms of opportunity and infrastructure, or is there still work to be done?
ED TALFAN: Over the last 20 years, there has been a huge
increase in productivity and confidence locally. The range of productions being made here has grown massively. The BBC and S4C laid the foundations, but they have been joined by the likes of Netflix, Disney, Amazon and HBO. It’s been a huge change. The support of Creative Wales has been a vital part of this growth too. It’s helped bring new partners to Wales, but at the same time played a critical role in ensuring that we continue to make programmes in both languages, at a level needed to reach an international audience. That said, there’s always more work to be done. Given the challenges of the past few years – not least Brexit and the pandemic – it’s important that we don’t take any of the gains for granted. DEF: Supporting Welsh talent seems baked into everything you do. How are you finding new voices and supporting them?
Voice means many things. We try to give a voice to local talent at all levels of production. We’re a small company with deep roots, and I feel that those roots are in our local communities. Over the past ten years, we have filmed in most corners of Wales – in both languages – and worked with production talent from across the country. So I guess there‘s a definite Welsh flavour to a lot of the work we do. But I should add that the stories we tell are universal. As a company, we want to tell stories that connect with people locally and internationally.
THERE’S a lot of good practice and progress, BUT THE WORK NEEDS TO BE ACCELERATED”
ET: You’re right, it is baked into everything that we do. We work
with a lot of Welsh writers, actors and directors, and are always looking to give opportunities to local talent and crews. In partnership with Creative Wales and
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