Major names from the worlds of film, TV and the media are coming to Swansea next week
Birger Larsen, the director of ‘The Killing’, a major Danish international hit TV programme, will be among the speakers at the Celtic Media Festival taking place in the city’s Marriot Hotel from Wednesday April 24 to Friday April 26.
The Celtic Media Festival is supported by broadcast, film, cultural and economic development organisations throughout the Celtic countries. The Festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting, film talent and excellence from Scotland, Isle of Man, Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and Brittany.
The festival will kick-off with the screening of a BBC documentary about Swansea Marketdue for broadcast later this month.
This year marks the first time the festival has come to Swansea in its 34-year history. Hundreds of delegates are expected to attend the many workshops and talks being organised.
Among the other speakers is Peter Devlin, a Hollywood sound mixer with Oscar nominations for his work on Star Trek, Transformers and Pearl Harbour. Some of the directors Peter’s worked with include Ron Howard, Oliver Stone and JJ Abrams, who’s recently been picked to direct the next batch of Star Wars movies.
Cllr David Phillips, Swansea Council Leader, said: “As a city, we’re delighted to host the2013 Celtic Media Festival because it further strengthens our status as a leading city of culture. There are many dimensions to Swansea, but our cultural heritage is a strong one and it’s helped interpret our city’s story through history. We pride ourselves on our creative talents and continue to nurture these through our schools, universities, colleges and communities.
“The festival will include stimulating debates and interesting events and will help further raise Swansea’s profile in the wake of our Premier League Swans qualifying for Europe next season and in the build-up to the centenary of Dylan Thomas‘ birth next year.
“I hope visitors coming to our waterfront city take the time to explore what we have to offer and spread the word about how wonderful Swansea Bay is. With Swansea Bay as a backdrop and the award-winning beaches of Gower within easy reach, we’ll offer a first-class location for this exciting festival where everyone can be assured of warm Welsh welcome.”
Catriona Logan, Celtic Media Festival Producer, said: “We’re very excited to bring the Celtic Media Festival to Swansea this month. Swansea is a city with a rich heritage and a particularly vibrant Welsh language community, and I’m sure our festival delegates will enjoy exploring all that Swansea and South Wales has to offer. Some of the most influential figures from the broadcast, film and digital media industries will be visiting Swansea for the festival, and I’m sure it’ll be the perfect host city for what promises to be a fantastic three days.”
Guto Harri, News International’s Director of Communications, will also be at the festival. He’ll be speaking to Peter Florence, Director of the Hay Festival, about the necessity of news and the challenges of lesser-spoken languages in the changing world of newsgathering.
Delegates will also get a chance to tour the set of Da Vinci’s Demons, BBC Worldwide’s latest collaboration with Starz TV.
Have a look at our Celtic Media Festival page for more information.
