The International Media Festival of Wales is in its first year, and is a sister festival to the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival which was set up by UWTSD’s Carmarthen Film and Media graduate Kelvin Guy. It will take place on the 18th-19th of October in Canolfan S4C Yr Egin on the Carmarthen campus. It will be a free event and open to everyone.
The aim of the festival is to celebrate the best of today’s content creators, programme-makers and media, photography and writing talent here in Wales and from around the world. The organisers hope that this event will provide an opportunity for individuals to network with practitioners and educators within the industry to share their experiences together.
This year's festival is being Directed by UWTSD’s Adventure Filmmaking lecturer Dr Brett Aggersberg, who will be providing a keynote presentation to open the festival and launch the new HND/BA Digital Media Production course.
Looking forward to the event Dr Brett Aggersberg said:
“I am extremely excited to be a part of this amazing opportunity to show off the innovative work being done by digital media practitioners in Wales. The festival is an opportunity to celebrate the best Wales has to offer, be it work from established companies to independent start-ups and students. This year we are fortunate to have OM Systems support our event with their latest cameras at a unique fire-spinning photography workshop. We will also be showcasing work by VR artists, drone pilots, and award-winning independent production companies. I hope this event sets the bar for the festival going forward, and that the community of digital producers in Wales, and further afield, will mark the occasion on their calendars as a major regular event.”
The festival is being supported by the University, as well as some local and international companies such as OM System Cameras (formerly Olympus), Y Sied, Barti Rum, Pembrokeshire Fire Spinners, Wales Interactive, and Sparq Fest.
During the festival, guests can expect screenings, exhibitions and seminars. Featured guest speakers include Geraint Radford, OM Systems macro ambassador; Coleg Sir Gar Lecturer Karl Sedgwick discussing VR; Media To Motion discussing Drones, and Carmarthen Film and Media Graduate Dan Bailey's company Broadside discussing their award-winning and BAFTA nominated film and commercial work.
Multimedia entries from across the world will be screened along with work by students from BA Filmmaking, BA Adventure Filmmaking, and Coleg Sir Gar's BA Photography.
There will be a free display by Pembrokeshire Fire Spinners on the evening of the 18th October, with an opportunity to take photographs using OM System cameras.
As the festival is located on UWTSD’s Carmarthen campus, students from the BA Filmmaking and BA Adventure Filmmaking courses will take advantage of this by volunteering at the event to gain experience in running a festival.
Carys Ifan, Director of Canolfan S4C Yr Egin adds:
“It’s excellent to see the launch of a new festival, especially one that is celebrating Welsh and international content created for a variety of digital platforms. Yr Egin is a focal point for the creative industries in the region and we’re thrilled to be hosting the inaugural International Media Festival of Wales. I’m sure the festival will be a resounding success and look forward to future collaboration. ”
