Wales One World Film Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Ffilm WOW "Cymru a’r Byd yn Un" ), also known as WOW Film Festival, is an annual film festival that takes place in the
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Aberystwyth Arts Centre (Welsh: ''Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth'') is an arts centre in Wales, located on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus. One of the largest in Wales, it comprises a theatre (312 seats), concert hall (900 seats), s ...
in
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, UK. It is the longest-running British film festival of
world cinema
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
.
History
The Wales One World Film Festival was founded in 2001 by David Gillam, and in that year screened at three venues: Aberystwyth Arts Centre, the Taliesin in
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, and Chapter in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. His vision was to present world cinema in a way that "show the stories people ‘over there’ are telling each other, what is important to them".
In 2014 the festival screened at Chapter Cardiff, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Theatr Mwldan Cardigan, and Clwyd Theatr Cymru Mold. In that year, WOW collaborated with
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
's
Abertoir
Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales is an annual horror and horror film festival held in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales.
History
The festival began as a three-day event in 2006, expanding since t ...
(subtitled "The International Horror Festival of Wales") for the UK premiere of the Argentinian supernatural thriller '' The Second Death'' (''La Segunda Muerte''). Other films screened in that year included '' The Lunchbox ''; ''
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
'' from the Philippines; '' Delight'' (one of a trilogy by Welsh director Gareth Jones); Kenyan drama ''
Nairobi Half Life
''Nairobi Half Life'' is a 2012 Kenyan drama film directed by David "Tosh" Gitonga. The film was selected as the Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but did not make the final shortlist, and is the first ...
''; and the Swiss documentary ''Winter Nomads''.
In 2015, the festival included films Argentinian film ''Natural Sciences'' (''Ciencias naturales''); the documentary ''Deep Listening'', about Australian eco-communities; the international collaboration ''
Jauja
Jauja (Shawsha Wanka Quechua: Sausa, Shawsha or Shausha, formerly in Spanish Xauxa, with pronunciation of "x" as "sh") is a city and capital of Jauja Province in Peru. It is situated in the fertile Mantaro Valley, to the northwest of Huancayo (t ...
'', starring
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...
; and films from India, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Brazil There was also a day of Iranian films to celebrate
(Iranian new year, celebrated on the northern spring equinox.
In 2017, the festival opened on 17 March in Cardiff then toured to Aberystwyth, Swansea, Cardigan and
Mold
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...
, screening films from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mali, Palestine, Thailand and Nepal. Films included
Pablo Larrain
Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul.
People
* Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer
*Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
*Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer
* Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist
*Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer
*Pablo Brene ...
Cyril Dion
Cyril Dion is a French writer, film director, poet, and activist.
Early life and education
After studying at the École d'art dramatique Jean-Périmony (drama school) and a very brief career as an actor, Cyril Dion coordinated projects for the ...
); feature documentary on the arms trade '' Shadow World''; and many others.
The 20th edition in 2021 was presented online, owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. All films were presented free to view.
Peter Wohlleben
Peter Wohlleben (born 1964) is a German forester and author who writes on ecological themes in popular language and has controversially argued for plant sentience. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller ''The Hidden Life of Trees: Wha ...
The Deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindee ...
''. The festival concluded on 21 March, celebrating the
International Day of Forests
The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2013.Ffilm Cymru Wales, the
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.
Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...
, and(in 2021) the
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
's Cultural Recovery Fund. It is dedicated to world cinema, screening films mostly from Africa, Asia and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, aiming to show under-represented national cinema industries. Its specialised programming allows for "visionary cinema" to be screened in a way that regular circuits do not allow.
The
artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
is founding director David Gillam, who was also inaugural director of Borderlines Film Festival from 2003 to 2013. The filmmaker Clive Myer, founder of three film schools, was a director of the festival as of 2012.
The
Abertoir
Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales is an annual horror and horror film festival held in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales.
History
The festival began as a three-day event in 2006, expanding since t ...
festival, Iris LGBT+, and Native Spirit Festival are partner festivals of WOW. A selection of
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s made by Welsh emerging filmmakers, under the banner of Ffilm Ifanc, are premiered in a section called Made in Wales.
Climate Stories
The Bangladesh Cymru Climate Stories film project is a collaborative project between Dhaka DocLab in Bangladesh, and Wales One World Film Festival, focused on making films about
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
The British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
is funding the project to the tune of £74,995. Four short films "on the theme of women building sustainability and resilience in response to climate change issues" will be selected from entries by filmmakers aged 18–35, two each from Bangladesh and Wales. The winning entries will be shown at the 2023 WOW Film Festival.