''House of America'' is a 1997

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

film directed by

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1963) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films ''House of America'', '' Resurrection Man'' and ''My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1963 in Cardiff, Wales. He studied for a history ...

. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of brothers Boyo and Sid, their sister Gwenny and their controlling mother. The film tackles issues such as Welsh identity, its need for indigenous heroes and the nation's perceived inferiority complex. The film was the theatrical debut for director Marc Evans, and the film won him the 'Best Directorial Debut' award at the

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

. The film also took four awards at the 1998

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

awards. It is a part of the cultural era known as

Cool Cymru Cool Cymru ( cy, Cŵl Cymru) was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Stereophonics, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia and Super Furry A ...

along with other similar independent films of the time.

Cast

Siân Phillips Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''. Early life Phi ...

as Mam *

Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...

as Boyo *

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

as Sid *

Lisa Palfrey Lisa Palfrey (born 9 February 1967) is a Welsh actress. She is known for playing the roles of Gwenny in ''House of America'' (1997), Mrs Nice in ''Guest House Paradiso'' (1999), Maureen in ''Pride'' (2014), Mrs Dai Bread 1 in ''Under Milk Woo ...

as Gwenny *

Steve Speirs Steve Speirs (born Steven Roberts, 22 February 1965) is a Welsh actor and writer who has appeared in films such as '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest''. Early life He was born as ...

as The Head * Richard Harrington as Cat

Notes

External links

* * 1997 films Films set in Wales British independent films 1997 drama films Films directed by Marc Evans Films shot in Wales Films scored by John Cale British drama films Cool Cymru 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{1990s-UK-film-stub