Matthew Rhys confirms Iris Prize Festival line-up for 2009! Iris Prize

24 Aug 2009
Matthew Rhys confirmes Iris Prize Festival line-up for 2009!

The full programme for the Iris Prize Festival has been announced today by Iris Prize Patron Matthew Rhys. The Festival takes place from 7 - 10 October 2009 at Cineworld and Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Wales (UK).

To read more:
Matthew Rhys confirmes Iris Prize Festival line-up for 2009! Iris Prize

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"The Iris Prize with lightening speed has become a significant event on the international film festival circuit by focusing on gay and lesbian film making talent.

The 2009 programme of feature films and talks, as well as the shortlisted 30 short films for the Iris Prize, looks very impressive and confirms that Cardiff is the place to be this October," said Matthew Rhys, Iris Prize Festival Patron.

The 2009 programme includes 3 European premieres of new and exciting US features:

Redwoods (Dir: David Lewis, USA, 2009)

Matthew Montgomery who plays Chase in Redwoods will be at the screening in Cardiff to introduce the film. He will also be contributing during the festival on a number of panels sharing his experience within the independent film market, having produced 4 feature films.

"The Iris Prize Festival is a wonderful and reputable avenue to see new work as it's known for bringing together the best of the best. It's exciting for the audience to see new movies, but during a festival such as The Iris Prize, we also have the opportunity to meet the many talented individuals involved in bringing films to life.

This is one of the many reasons why festivals like Iris and her global network of partner festivals are so important," said Matthew Montgomery.


[Pictured above: Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the gay character in 'Brothers & Sister' made the cover of the world's most read gay magazine, The Advocate.]

"The Festival has become quite reputable in supporting filmmakers alike. I'm thrilled to be sharing some of my own experiences within the independent film market during the informal and formal sessions taking place throughout the festival.

During these strenuous economic conditions, I'm convinced that by unifying and sharing our experiences of best practice we will build a stronger gay and lesbian filmmaking community," he added.

The Big Gay Musical (Dir: Casper Andreas and Fred M Caruso, USA, 2009)

Manhattan based actor Daniel Robinson who plays Paul in the film will be visiting Cardiff for the first time to introduce the film.

"I’m so excited about visiting Cardiff I’ve heard such a lot about Iris. This will be my first visit to Wales, I’ve heard it’s a beautiful country. I’m also honoured to be presenting The Big Gay Musical at the festival.

This will be the film’s first screening outside of the US so I’m quite excited to see how a European audience will respond to the film," said Daniel Robinson.

"I enjoyed working on the film, Casper, who was on the Iris jury last year, and Fred were very generous directors.

We also had a great cast. I had one scene with Brent Corrigan which is quite sensitive and not what people might expect. Its great news that Brent is also attending the festival and I’m looking forward to meeting up with him in Cardiff," he added.

Hollywood Je t’aime (Dir: Jason Bushman, USA, 2009)

Jason Bushman returns to Cardiff to introduce his first feature film. He attended the inaugural Iris Prize Festival in 2007 with his short film Serene Hunter staring Eric Debets, who also plays the lead in Hollywood Je t’aime.

"I’m very excited to be able to open the features strand of this year’s festival with Hollywood Je t’aime. Not only is this a wonderfully entertaining and magical film but it offers us a chance to invite Jason Bushman back to Cardiff. He made such a big impression with his short film Serene Hunter during our inaugural festival in 2007.

It’s fantastic to see Jason going from strength to strength and for Iris to be a small part of that, we feel very proud of what he has achieved" said Berwyn Rowlands from the Iris Prize.

The full programme of 6 features also includes Fiona’s Scrip (Dir: Florencia Manovil) and two accomplished films from France, Highly Strung Jet e mangerais (Dir: Sophie Laloy) and the International Festival Favourite Give Me Your Hand Donne-moi la mains (Dir: Pascal-Alex Vincent).

Confirmed guests attending the Iris Prize Festival to introduce their feature films are: Jason Bushman (director Hollywood Je t'aime), Florencia Manovil (director Fiona's Script), Matthew Montgomery (actor Redwoods), Daniel Robinson (actor The Big Gay Musical), Brent Corrigan (The Big Gay Musical) and Pascal-Alex Vincent (director Give Me Your Hand).

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Adoration of Beauty and the Grotesque, on the World Wide Web.

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Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.
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Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage advances while your Queer Day Rises!
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.
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© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Doctor Who and Torchwood -- Participants required for research project: Screening The Nation: Wales and Landmark Television

Dear all,

You may be aware of a BBC Trust project being conducted at CCI by Professor Steve Blandford, Professor Stephen Lacey, Dr. Ruth McElroy and Dr. Rebecca Williams on the topic of ‘Screening The Nation: Wales and Landmark Television'.

Torchwood BBCi Teaser





We are collecting questionnaire responses to representations of Wales, primarily in Doctor Who and Torchwood. We therefore invite anyone who is interested to complete an online questionnaire for the project which can be found at
Questionaire English
If you prefer to respond in Welsh please visit
Questionaire Welsh
We hope that some of you will be able to take part in this research and we look forward to reading some of your responses. We also encourage you to pass these links onto anyone else who might be interested.

Doctor Who Season 4 Trailer




Dr. Rebecca Williams

Research Assistant

Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries

University of Glamorgan



AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Study Abroad in Britain, Europe and the U.S.A. / Canada Website.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Adoration of Beauty and the Grotesque, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called William Blake Spirituality: Toward a Theory of Horoscopes, Tarot and Tomorrow's Tea Leaves, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Courage 2 Create, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Grace-filled Empty Spaces, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.
Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Cardiff: BBC National Orchestra of Wales Records Soundtrack for Doctor Who at new home

[Pictured above: David Tennant as Dr Who]

BBC National Orchestra of Wales Records Soundtrack for Doctor Who at new home

Dyddiad Rhyddhau: 24 March 2009


Time Travelling Orchestra BBC National Orchestra of Wales is currently recording the soundtrack for BBC Wales' new episodes of Doctor Who.


The Orchestra's music will be heard adding drama to the filmed action of David Tennant and the programme's other stars later this year beginning with the first of four Doctor Who specials on air at Easter.




Some of the Orchestra players took time out during the session to do some time travelling of their own as Doctor Who's TARDIS made a timely stop in Cardiff Bay.

Doctor Who theme tune by Nigel Kennedy - BBC Proms 2008



The Orchestra are performing and recording the music at their new home and venue BBC Hoddinott Hall at Wales Millennium Centre where they moved in January.

The Orchestra are recording the soundtrack for the first time in their new facilities since they began performing the Doctor Who theme tune and soundtrack back in 2005.




Their new studio provides the perfect conditions for them to record, purpose built for their recordings for TV, BBC Radio 3 and for concert performance.

Director of BBC National Orchestra of Wales, David Murray said "We are thrilled that the Orchestra records the soundtrack for this special programme and is associated with excellent BBC Wales' series.

National Orchestra of Wales



As well as being tremendously exciting for the players and the Orchestra team, the opportunity to perform a different style of music helps to showcase the diversity of the Orchestra.

It is also particularly exciting to be recording a soundtrack in our new home for the first time since our move here in January with the excellent recording and performing facilities that BBC Hoddinott Hall offers to the Orchestra".

BBC National Orchestra of Wales received a Beacon Award for Excellence by the Arts Council of Wales in 2008.



Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC yn Recordio Trac Sain Doctor Who yn ei chartref newydd

Dyddiad Rhyddhau: 24 Mawrth 2009
David Tennant fel Dr Who

Ar hyn o bryd mae Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC yn Teithio drwy Amser yn recordio trac sain penodau newydd Doctor Who ar gyfer BBC Wales.


Clywir cerddoriaeth y Gerddorfa yn ychwanegu drama at anturiaethau ar ffilm David Tennant a sêr eraill y rhaglen yn ddiweddarach eleni gan gychwyn â'r gyntaf o bedair rhaglen Doctor Who arbennig ar yr awyr dros y Pasg.

Cymerodd rhai o chwaraewyr y Gerddorfa hoe fach yn ystod y sesiwn i deithio drwy amser eu hunain pan roddodd TARDIS Doctor Who dro amserol am Fae Caerdydd.

Mae'r Gerddorfa'n perfformio ac yn recordio'r gerddoriaeth yn ei chartref a'i hoedfan newydd, Neuadd Hoddinott y BBC yng Nghanolfan Mileniwm Cymru lle'r ymfudodd ym mis Ionawr.

Dyma'r tro cyntaf i'r Gerddorfa'n recordio'r trac sain yn ei chyfleusterau newydd ers iddi ddechrau perfformio arwyddgan a thrac sain Doctor Who dro'n ôl yn 2005.

Gallifrey - Doctor Who



Mae ei stiwdio newydd yn cynnig yr union amgylchiadau iddi recordio, wedi'i chodi i'r pwrpas ar gyfer ei recordiadau i'r teledu, BBC Radio 3 ac ar gyfer perfformio cyngherddau.

Meddai Cyfarwyddwr Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC, David Murray "Rydym wrth ein bodd mai'r Gerddorfa sy'n recordio trac sain y rhaglen arbennig yma a'i bod ynghlwm â'r gyfres ragorol ar BBC Wales.

Ar ben bod yn aruthrol o gyffrous i'r chwaraewyr a thîm y Gerddorfa, mae'r cyfle i berfformio gwahanol fath o gerddoriaeth yn helpu i roi stondin i amryw ddoniau'r Gerddorfa.

Mae hefyd yn arbennig o gyffrous cael recordio trac sain yn ein cartref newydd am y tro cyntaf ers i ni ymfudo yma ym mis Ionawr a chennym y cyfleusterau recordio a pherfformio rhagorol sydd gan Neuadd Hoddinott y BBC i'w cynnig i'r Gerddorfa."

Enillodd Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Cymreig y BBC Ddyfarniad Cwmni Disglair gan Gyngor Celfyddydau Cymru yn 2008.




Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Adoration of Beauty and the Grotesque, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called William Blake Spirituality: Toward a Theory of Horoscopes, Tarot and Tomorrow's Tea Leaves, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Courage 2 Create, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Grace-filled Empty Spaces, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.
Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Day Rises!
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Cardiff ATRiuM: George Ewart Evans Centenary Fête April 1, 2009

[Pictured above: George Ewart Evans (1909, Abercynon, South Wales – 1988) was a Welsh-born schoolteacher, writer and folklorist who became a dedicated collector of oral history and oral tradition in the East Anglian countryside from the 1940s to 1970s, and produced eleven books of collections of these materials.]

My esteemed colleague Professor Hamish Fyfe writes to us:

Dear Colleagues,

A date for your diaries

The 1st of April 2009 marks the centenary of the birth of the writer and pioneer oral historian George Ewart Evans. His name is eponymous to the Centre for Storytelling here in CCI. George was born in Abercynon but completed most of his seminal work in Suffolk.

The gathering here in Atrium on the 1st of April will bring together significant figures to consider his life, his work and his legacy..

These will include his son the former Faber and Faber Chairman Matthew Evans, David Gentleman the artist, Colin Thomas the film-maker our colleague the historian Gareth Williams who is Evans’s biographer.

If you know about Evans’s work come and join us in celebrating, if you don’t come and learn more about the man and his work from those that knew, read and have been influenced by him . . .

Hamish Fyfe

Professor Hamish Fyfe,

Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries

Atrium, University of Glamorgan

Adam Street, Cardiff, CF24 2XF





Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.
Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods
Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.
Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.
© 2009 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Cyfrwng Welsh Media 2008 Holds Annual Seaside Resort Conference at Aberystwyth University May 1-2, Follows Gala April 27 BAFTA Cymru Awards

[Pictured above: Aberystwyth overlooks the Irish Sea.]

CYFRWNG 2008 CONFERENCE

Aberystwyth University
1-2 May 2008

New Platforms :: Convergence

The Cyfrwng 2008 conference will be held in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, on 1-2 May and this year’s theme is ‘Convergence – Cydgyfeiriant’. During the two day event, a range of speakers, papers and panels will consider how the media in Wales are rising to the challenge of a digital, multiplatform world.



The conference programme will be published on this website shortly but we are urging people to register as soon as possible and to book their place at the conference dinner which will follow the Cyfrwng 2008 award ceremony on Thursday night 1 May.



The dinner will be hosted at the Council Chamber in the National Library but space is limited! Come back to the website soon for full programme details but speakers include:



[Pictured above: Dr David Barlow, University of Glamorgan]




Dr Mike Cormack, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig




[Pictured above: Phil George, National English Language Theatre]




[Pictured above: John Geraint, Green Bay Media Limited]

Rhian Gibson, S4C Director of Commissioning



Janet Lewis Jones, BBC Trust

Prof. Tom O’Malley, Aberystwyth University

Elis Owen, Managing Director ITV Wales




[Pictured above: Prof. Mike Pearson, Aberystwyth University]

Arshad Rasul, Director of Technology, S4C




[Pictured above: Dr Heike Roms, Aberystwyth University]

Mandy Rose, Creative Director: Multiplatform, BBC Wales




[Pictured above: Ceri Sherlock, Multiplatform Commissioning Executive, BBC Wales]



[Pictured above: Prof. Elan Closs Stephens, Aberystwyth University]

Prof. Ioan Williams, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru

Rhodri Williams, Ofcom Wales

For further information, contact Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones or Rhodri ap Dyfrig on 01970 622533.

Cyfrwng Welsh Media Conference May 2008

BAFTA CYMRU

CYNHADLEDD CYFRWNG 2008

1-2 Mai 2008

Prifysgol Aberystwyth

Llwyfannau Newydd :: Cydgyfeiriant

Bydd cynhadledd Cyfrwng 2008 yn cael ei chynnal yn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru yn Aberystwyth rhwng 1-2 Mai a’r thema eleni yw ‘Cydgyfeiriant – Convergence’. Dros gyfnod o ddau ddiwrnod, bydd amrywiaeth o ddarlithoedd a phaneli difyr yn trafod sut mae cyfryngau Cymru yn ymateb i her yr oes ddigidol, aml-lwyfan.



Caiff rhaglen y gynhadledd ei chyhoeddi ar y wefan hon cyn hir ond rydym yn annog pobl i gofrestru mor fuan â phosib ac i sicrhau lle yng nghinio’r gynhadledd fydd yn dilyn seremoni wobrwyo Cyfrwng 2008 ar nos Iau 1 Mai.



Y bwriad yw cynnal y swper yn Ystafell y Cyngor y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol ond mae nifer y llefydd yn gyfyngedig, felly cyntaf i’r felin! Dewch nôl i’r wefan am fanylion llawn y rhaglen ond dyma rai o siaradwyr y gynhadledd:

Dr David Barlow, Prifysgol Morgannwg
Dr Mike Cormack, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Phil George, Theatr Genedlaethol cyfrwng Saesneg
John Geraint, Green Bay
Rhian Gibson, Cyfarwyddwr Comisiynu S4C



Janet Lewis Jones, Ymddiriedolaeth y BBC
Yr Athro Tom O’Malley, Prifysgol Aberystwyth



Elis Owen, Rheolwr Gyfarwyddwr ITV Wales
Yr Athro Mike Pearson, Prifysgol Aberystwyth




Arshad Rasul, Cyfarwyddwr Technoleg S4C
Dr Heike Roms, Prifysgol Aberystwyth
Mandy Rose, Cyfarwyddwr Creadigol: Aml-lwyfan, BBC Cymru
Ceri Sherlock, Gweithredwr Comisiynu BBC Cymru
Yr Athro Elan Closs Stephens, Prifysgol Aberystwyth
Yr Athro Ioan Williams, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
Rhodri Williams, Ofcom Cymru



Am fwy o wybodaeth, cysyllter ag Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones neu Rhodri ap Dyfrig ar 01970 622533.

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Funky Victorian Welsh Performance Artists' Enclave in Llandaf North Continues to Provoke and Impress with Sexy Exhibits

When I arrived in Wales almost four years ago to begin my doctoral studies, one of the first places I wandered into was the old Victorian laundry turned into a combination studio and gallery, called Tactile Bosch, located in Llandaf, which I reached by biking along the Taff Trail.

We have a similar enclave in South Florida called the Bake House and I knew several of the Welsh artists after promoting their work at a gallery show in Manhattan, so I was keen to see what all the excitement was about in South Wales.

Apparently South Wales has a long and established pedigree as British artists' preferred place for living and working, going back to the 1960s art explosion associated with the Barry College Summer School, which Dr. Heike Roms has documented in her recent research.

Read more about Dr. Roms remarkable investigation here:

What's Welsh for Performance? - 40 years of Performance Art in Wales

When I'm lucky enough to be relaxing at our home in Miami Beach during the annual winter Basel Art Festival, my fashionable or Bohemian NYC artist friends tell me that if they moved to Europe they would move to Berlin, for its cheap cost of living and high standard of living related to the growing cluster of artists who have moved there from around the world, along with Berlin's great mix of unverisities, museums, and quirky neighborhoods, etc.

From what my Welsh artist friends tell me, Cardiff and South Wales have a similar appeal (albeit on a smaller scale when compared to Miami Beach or Berlin) for British artists who want to live and create somewhere in the UK that's both affordable and stimulating, but aren't quite ready to learn to speak German . . .

Which brings me to back to those wild and crazy but extremely talented folks who create and exhibit at Llandaf's Tactile Bosch.

Check out their latest exhibit, you won't regret it!

Exhibit background notes:

Trace / Taenu opened in London on the 23rd of May 2007 in the Woburn Studios, Bloomsbury, and ran until the 26th of May 2007.

Organized by MA students from the SLADE School of Fine Art, the exhibition featured those from the ‘media’ department, who work and experiment with photography, film, performance, video, installation and sound.

After the success the London show the SLADE collective retained a hard-core group of 28 practitioners taking the exhibition to Stolzestrasse 11, [Konstablerwache] in Frankfurt.

They will showcase a site specific version of the new work produced during 2007 @ tactileBOSCH from Sat 16th - Sat 24th Feb. Opening @ 6.30pm on Saturday 16th Feb.


[Pictured above: Situated in a reclaimed Victorian Laundry in the Llandaff North section of Cardiff UK, opened as a fledgling art facility in June 2000. Primarily used as artists studios and an alternative exhibition space filling that time honoured tradition of artist led space . . .]

Recognising common subjects of investigation, which had emerged in the preceding months, the general term ‘contrast’ was selected as a working title by the artists.

The term referred to obvious formal contrasts explored such as black and white and light and shadow, and regarding content- contradictions and exaggerations, fiction and reality.

After in-depth discussion emphasis was placed on the play with light, use of black-and-white studies and a sense of theatricality, as the major themes or interests of the exhibition.

The title "Taenu" [meaning trace elements or dust left covering remains] was developed, capturing the essence of the "quiet" statements observed in all participating artists and their work.

Showing experimental films, videos, installations, photographs and drawings.
The exhibition highlights the strong shift in creative expression and social sensitivity seen in the last few years.

Young artists are no longer interested in using complex interweaving, aggressive methods and shock tactics in their art but follow a more rigid, calculated and understated direction: although leaving traces quietly, they are no less determined.

The work appears "natural", its casualness is convincing, as art should not be any more exerted; but is volatile, surprising, precise and significant.

Since the participating artists originate from many different countries, it will be a chance to see international post graduate students evolve work in situ @ the studio before taking the exhibition up to Liverpool to showcase their endeavours further during Liverpool’s’ City of Culture 2008.


[Pictured above: An old photograph of the late Victorian laundry while it still operated, and before being turned into an eclectic-cum-Early-Edwardian-minimalist-centre for a local Welsh art explosion.]

Several participants intend to take the exhibition to their home cities.

Which range from Korea – Japan, Poland to Spain drawing attention to the wide range of talent emerging from the Slade School of Fine Art to the international art arena.

Trace / Taenu
An Exhibition @ tactileBOSCH
by the SLADE MA Fine Art & Media Collective.
Opens: Sat 16th Feb @ 6.30pm

If you go:

tactileBOSCH is located on Andrews Rd, Llandaff North Cardiff Tel. +44 07951 256255

Arrivals by train to Cardiff Central Station plus a local link up to Llandaff Station;

Local Bus #25 takes you from town centre up Cathedral Rd and drops right at the end of Andrews Rd opposite Glan Taff School;

Bike Ride up the Taff Trail but don't forget to pull off at Hayley Park [by the Tennis Courts]

Take a sweater the heating in the old building is funkkier than the folks who perfrom and exhibit there -- of course, there's usually a wine bar or cuppah to be had. Tell them I sent you . . .

Tactile Bosch Cardiff art Studio and Gallery Space

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2008 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Here's a GREAT Christmas Gift!!! Many World Cinema Lovers Thrilled As Famous Irish Film Scholar Martin McLoone Launches New Book

Film, Media and Popular Culture in Ireland
Cityscapes, Landscapes, Soundscapes
by Martin McLoone



This collection of essays from Martin McLoone takes a new look at
contemporary culture in Ireland through the filter of three main
developments – the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy in the South, the peace
process in the North and the general rise in Ireland of ‘diasporan
awareness’.



The book considers the impact of these three factors on
the film, television, and music produced in Ireland, mostly since the
1990s, and speculates on how this popular culture reflects both what
has been gained in the new Ireland but also what has been lost.



Specific concerns of the book are the secularisation of Ireland and
popular culture’s assault on the Church generally (and the priest in
particular); the changing cityscapes and landscapes of the new Ireland;

the ‘death’ of politics; sexual freedom and personal liberation; the problem of representing unionist culture in the North; Van Morrison’s Belfast and the rise of ‘possessive individualism’ in Ireland.



The book celebrates the new Ireland but also raises issues about the loss of aspects of Irish identity that were valuable and suggests the need for a new ‘collective imaginary’ that might reinvigorate Irish identity in the new millennium.

Contents:

Introduction: An Irish Monument in a Foreign Field: The Changing Configurations of Irish Studies 1900-2005

􀂙 Strumpet City in Post-modern Times: The Return of the Oppressed?

􀂙 Cinema, City and Imaginative Space: 'Hip Hedonism' and recent Irish Cinema

􀂙 Topographies of Terror and Taste: The Reimagining of Belfast in Recent Cinema

􀂙 Celtic Cities, Celtic Landscapes

􀂙 Haunted Landscapes and the Irish West

􀂙 December Bride: A Landscape Peopled Differently

􀂙 Settling Old Scores? Religion,
Secularisation and recent Irish Cinema

􀂙 The Political Power of the Feisty Colleen: Contradiction in the Screen Persona of
Maureen O'Hara

􀂙 Irish Soundscapes: Hybridity and National Musics (with Noel McLaughlin)

􀂙 Rootedness and Transcendence: Van Morrison's Belfast

􀂙 Irish Soundscapes: Punk Music and the Political Power of 'What-Might-Have-Been'

􀂙 Representing the Unionists



Martin McLoone is Professor of Media Studies (Film, Television and Photography) in the Centre for Media Research at the University of Ulster, Coleraine.

He has written extensively on all aspects of the media in Ireland and Britain (including radio and popular music).

He is the author of Irish Film: The Emergence of a Contemporary Cinema, published in 2000.

November 2007 224 pages illus
978 0 7165 2935 4 cloth €60.00 / £45.00
978 0 7165 2936 1 paper €24.95 / £19.95

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Friday Night Hungarian Poet George Szirtes Glamorgan Free Twilight Lecture Series Starts 7 December 2007

Professor Tony Curtis at the University of Glamorgan English & Creative Writing courses has announced the guests lecturers for the coming term:

Here are the guest writers for this year: all are at 6.30 in Glamorgan Business Centre, located on the main University of Glamorgan campus in Treforest, Pontypridd on Fridays and are FREE -

Dec 7th, 2007 George Szirtes - poet and translator


[Pictured above: George Szirtes - Hungarian poet and translator]

George Szirtes was born in Budapest in 1948 and came to England as a refugee in 1956. He was brought up in London and studied Fine Art in London and Leeds.



His poems began appearing in national magazines in 1973 and his first book, The Slant Door, was published in 1979. It won the Faber Memorial prize the following year.



After the publication of his second book, November and May, 1982, he was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.



Since then he has published several books and won various other prizes including the T S Eliot Prize for Reel in 2005.

Having returned to his birthplace, Budapest, for the first time in 1984, he has also worked extensively as a translator of poems, novels, plays and essays and has won various prizes and awards in this sphere.



His own work has been translated into numerous languages.

Beside his work in poetry and translation he has written Exercise of Power, a study of the artist Ana Maria Pacheco, and, together with Penelope Lively, edited New Writing 10 published by Picador in 2001.

George Szirtes - Hungarian poet and translator

Feb 29th, 2008 Grahame Davies - poet, novelist and BBC executive


[Pictured above: Dr Grahame Davies - poet, novelist and BBC executive; photograph courtesy Mauro Philip Conti Photography London-Miami-NYC.]

"One of the clearest public poetic voices of his generation," Emyr Lewis

"An unequalled satirist,” John Gruffydd Jones.

“He sees through the deception and falseness of urban media life better than anyone, and he’s scathing in his vision of the emptiness of city existence...this poet has sufficient mastery of language to disturb and reach the roots of the soul.” Alan Llwyd.

"Poems which brilliantly describe Welsh life in the capital." Peter Finch.

“There’s a new world-view on our everyday lives here, overloaded with memorable images and phrases,” Menna Elfyn.

“He has an incredible gift of expression. There’s scarcely a poem in the volume that doesn’t contain truly original and clever phrases.” Meirion MacIntyre Huws.



Poet, editor and literary critic, born in 1964 and brought up in the former coal mining village of Coedpoeth near Wrexham in north east Wales.

After gaining a degree in English Literature at CCAT (now Anglia Ruskin University) Cambridge, he qualified as a journalist with the Thomson Organisation at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and worked on newspapers in south Wales from 1985 until 1991, since when he has worked for BBC Wales.



His career as a journalist and producer has brought him a number of Welsh and UK industry awards. He is currently Editor Broadcast development for BBC Wales.

In 1997, he was awarded a doctorate by the University of Wales for his study, written in Welsh, of the work of R.S.Thomas, Saunders Lewis, T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil, whom he identified as part of an anti-modern trend in Western culture in the 20th Century.



In 1997, his first volume of poetry, Adennill Tir, (Barddas,) a book arising from the 10 years he spent in Merthyr Tydfil in the south Wales Valleys, won the Harri Webb Memorial Prize.

In 1998, he was second to Emyr Lewis in the competition for the National Eisteddfod Crown.



In 1999, his study of Wales and the anti-modern movement, Sefyll yn y Bwlch, (University of Wales Press, 1999), the product of his doctoral research, was published. It went "straight to the front rank of criticism of our day," according to the critic Dr Dafydd Glyn Jones (Barn), and was described as “a signal book” by the critic Dr Angharad Price (New Welsh Review).



In 2000, he co-edited Oxygen, (Seren) a bilingual anthology of Welsh poets aged under 45.

In 2001, his second volume of poetry, Cadwyni Rhyddid, (Barddas) appeared . It went to a second edition within a few months of publication, won the Wales Arts Council's 2002 Book of the Year award at the Hay on Wye Festival of Literature, together with a prize of £3,000.



In 2002, Seren press published his literary anthology, The Chosen People, which details the relationship of the Welsh and the Jewish people as reflected in literature.

Also in 2002, he edited a 160-page edition of the Bulgarian literary magazine Plamak (“Flame”) dedicated to Welsh literature, the first such anthology of Welsh writing in the Balkans.



In 2002 Ffiniau/Borders appeared from Gomer press, a bilingual volume of poetry jointly with Elin ap Hywel.

In 2003, he chaired the panel of judges for the Welsh Book of the Year Awards. The first prize of £5,000 went to Jerry Hunter's Llwch Cenhedloedd.



In 2004 his first novel Rhaid i Bopeth Newid, was published by Gomer. It was longlisted for the £10,000 Book of the Year prize, 2005, and was described by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas in Taliesin as 'the first post-national novel.'

Also in 2004, his selection of Welsh poetry in Asturian translation appeared in Spain from Kêr ar Mor press under the title Nel país del borrina (The Country of the Clouds).



In 2005, his selection of Welsh poetry in Galician translation appeared under the title of No país de la brétema from VTP Editorial.

In 2005, Seren published The Big Book of Cardiff, an anthology of contemporary writing about Cardiff, co-edited by Peter Finch and Grahame Davies.

Also in 2005, his third volume of original Welsh-language poetry appeared from Barddas, under the title Achos (Cause).

In 2006, his anthology of work by and about refugees and asylum seekers in Wales, Gwyl y Blaidd / Festival of the Wolf, appeared from Parthian/Hafan, edited jointly with Tom Cheesman and Sylvie Hoffman.

In 2007, Seren published Everything Must Change, an English-language novel based on the successful Rhaid i Bopeth Newid.



Also in 2007, Seren will be publishing Real Wrexham, a work of psychogeography in the Real series edited by Peter Finch.

He is a full member of the Welsh Academi and was the Welsh-language editor of Poetry Wales magazine for several years until 2002. He won the vers libre prize in the National Eisteddfod in 1994, the sonnet prize in 2004 and the Welsh Academi’s Stomp competition in 2001.

His work has been translated into several languages, including English, German, Latvian, Maltese, Bulgarian, Polish, Asturian and Galician, and is widely anthologised, appearing in publications as diverse as The Times, The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry London, the Literary Review in America, Orbis (#136 Spring 2006) and the Yearbook of Welsh Writing in English.

He is a frequent contributor of articles and reviews to journals such as Poetry Wales, Barn, Taliesin, Planet and New Welsh Review, and his poetry is on the syllabus for school pupils in Wales.

Dr Grahame Davies - poet, novelist and BBC executive

May 9th, 2008 Niall Griffiths - novelist.


[Pictured above: Niall Griffiths - novelist]



The BBC Wales Profile on Niall Griffiths writes that:

"Niall Griffiths was born in Liverpool and has since moved to Aberystwyth. Both towns have a strong hold on his imagination. His first two novels were set on the west coast of Wales, his third re-visited his native city."



"His novel Stump traces a trajectory of violent retribution between Liverpool and Aberystwyth, following two shell-suited gangsters on their journey from Merseyside to the seaside town to settle a score."



"There has always been a strong Welsh influence in Griffiths' life. He was born to a Toxteth family with Welsh roots, in 1966."

Niall Griffiths Official Website

Academi -- Welsh Academy of Writers

Many prestigious published and award-winning authors and poets
teach on our the University of Glamorgan English & Creative Writing , so students and colleagues can be confident they’re getting the best teaching and support.



We also use our experience to help students forge working relationships with industry professionals.



The university has an outstanding reputation for creative writing. The subject was one of 12 areas rated “Excellent” by the Government’s Teaching Quality Assessment body.



In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), English was awarded a grade 4 rating, equivalent to national excellence in all areas.



For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

AIM -- ATRiuM Intelligent Media, Cardiff, Wales, U.K. on Face Book

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

How Liminal is My Coastline? ‘On The Edge: Margins and Peripheries in Welsh Writing’

[Pictured above: Conference Organizer Dr. Katie Gramich, School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University]

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008

The focus of the twentieth annual conference of the Association for Welsh Writing in English at Gregynog Hall in Powys, Wales, UK from April 4-6, 2008 will be ‘On The Edge: Margins and Peripheries in Welsh Writing.’

The theme is open to a range of interpretations, both literal and symbolic.

On the literal (littoral?) level, Welsh writers have long been engaged in representing the coastline and islands of Wales, from Allen Raine’s Cardiganshire cliffs and caves to Dylan Thomas’s Rhossili and the marginal estuary town of Under Milk Wood . . .

More recently, Brenda Chamberlain and Christine Evans have provided powerful poetic accounts of living on the edge in Bardsey Island, while R. S. Thomas spent his later years probing life out on the limb of the Llŷn peninsula.

Other writers, like Emyr Humphreys and Kate Roberts, have seen Wales on the uncomfortable edge of Empire, while many Welsh works, like Raymond Williams’s Border Country, have explored the liminal spaces between nations, and between the rural and the industrial.

International artistic movements are often interpreted differently by writers of ‘marginal’ status, such as the Welsh Modernism of Glyn Jones or the Anglo-Welsh Romanticism of Felicia Hemans or Ann of Swansea.

Welsh identities, too have frequently been represented as edgy and fractured, such as in the multiple selves projected in the work of David Jones, Dannie Abse, or Charlotte Williams.

More recently, Welsh writers have explored cultural, ethnic and linguistic margins in productive experiments with form and symbolism, as in the writing of Lloyd Jones, Gwyneth Lewis, or Peter Ho Davies.

This conference will be an opportunity to explore the various edges of Welsh writing: those places where the self comes up against the something else which, arguably, defines it as what it is.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers are invited on any aspect of the theme ‘On The Edge: Margins and Peripheries in Welsh Writing.’

Both short papers (c. 20 minutes) or longer ones (c. 50 minutes) will be considered; a brief abstract should be submitted to the organizer for consideration by the deadline of December 14th, 2007.

Organizer: Dr. Katie Gramich, School of English, Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU. Email: GramichK@cf.ac.uk;

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Rediscovery of Noel Coward Play by Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries Scholars Excites International Theatre World

[Pictured above: Professor Mike Wilson, CCI Head of Research; Prof Richard Hand Professor of Theatre and Media Drama, CCI, backstage in Glasgow with Dr Paul Carr Principal Lecturer in Popular Music, CCI.]

Coward Play Rediscovered

September 2007

A Noel Coward play, which has remained untouched for almost 90 years, has been rediscovered by academics at the University of Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries.


[Pictured above: Sir Noël Peirce Coward, 16 December 1899 -- 26 March 1973.]



The play, ‘The Better Half’, was discovered in the Lord Chamberlain’s archives in the British Library by Professors Richard Hand and Mike Wilson during research for their latest book, ‘London’s Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror’, which includes the text of Coward’s previously unpublished play.



The one-act play was last performed in 1922 by ‘London’s Grand-Guignol’ company, which involved Sybil Thorndike and her husband Lewis Casson.



Professor Wilson explained, “We were conducting research for our book on ‘London’s Grand-Guignol’, a theatre which combined horror and comedy plays on the same bill and were thrilled to have found the manuscript to the play that Coward wrote for the company.



It was probably the only surviving copy of the play and has not been published before.



“This play will no doubt arouse the interest of Coward fans worldwide, especially as it was written at a time when Coward was on the threshold of achieving critical acclaim and fame.”



Now for the first time since the 1920s the play will be performed in London by theatre company ‘The Sticking Place’ as part of their annual Hallowe’en season of horror theatre.

Sticking Place Theatre

Noel Coward Performance (Noel Coward performs some of his song on "Noel Coward & Mary Martin: Together With Music")


This will be a unique opportunity to see the play performed in its original context.



Hand and Wilson’s new book, due to be published in November by the University of Exeter Press, focuses on the attempt to establish a permanent Grand-Guignol theatre in London between 1920 and 1922, an experiment that was ultimately undermined by the censorious eye of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, the official public censor.



The research was co-funded by The British Academy and the Society for Theatre Research.



tagged: cci research

Issued by: University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL
Contact: Press Office on 01443 483362
E-mail: press@glam.ac.uk

Noël Coward Society

For additional info please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

AIM -- ATRiuM Intelligent Media, Cardiff, Wales, U.K. on Face Book

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods

Cardiff Rocks This Weekend With Short Filmmaker Fest / Short Filmmakers from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales Showcased in BBC Film Network

[BREAKING NEWS: Cardiff the Capital of Wales inundated with world-reknowned filmmakers for Iris Prize awards this weekend! Hint: If you go out, take along your autograph book and digital camera, and send us your fotos of visiting celebrities!!! Read about it here:

'Iris Prize' comes to Cardiff, with £25,000 up for grabs for the winner of the best short film.]

Speaking of using your short film to become famous . . .

Silence Is Golden trailer on the BBC Film Network Showcase



[About the video: A trailer for Chris Shepherd's latest film, a period drama called SILENCE IS GOLDEN. It mixes live action with animation and follows on from his other shorts, DAD'S DEAD and WHO I AM AND WHAT I WANT. The whole 15 film is on BBC FILM NETWORK site and is going to be released on DVD later in the year.]



If you would like the chance to showcase your short film on the BBC Film Network, then this is what you need to do:

We cannot guarantee to publish every film, but we do guarantee that your film will be watched. We expect a certain level of production standards to ensure that your film is seen in the best possible environment. See our submission criteria for more information.



what you get from us
If your submission is successful you'll get:

your film showcased on bbc.co.uk
a dedicated film page, with links to you and your cast and crew's profile pages, allowing people who see your film to find out more about you and your work
feedback on your film from other Film Network members
your film seen by our Industry Panel.



what we need from you
To submit your film, you need to be registered with Film Network. It'll take less than 5 minutes to create your membership.

Once you're a member, you need to fill in the online submission form. Please read and check you're happy with the submission rules before you do so.



The information that you need to give is:

your contact details
your film's details - including length, funding details, production company, distribution information and weblinks
a synopsis (of less than 100 words) and log line or short description (20 words)
festival screenings and award details
crew and cast names
a short fact about the making of your film



You'll need to supply us with a hard copy of your film on either VHS or DVD (not DVD-ROM) - we'll give you address details at the end of the submission process.

If we decide to show your film, we'll then need a broadcast quality copy and copies of any stills you have associated with the film, preferably supplied as high-resolution JPEGs on CD-Rom.



Please note: We regret that we cannot return submission tapes and we do not guarantee to publish your film. If we do publish your film though, we will return any Digibetas by registered delivery.

AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

mwoods[at]glam[dot]ac[dot]uk

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh-American Family Genealogy, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Welsh Music, Film, and Books Symposium, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Celtic Cult Cinema on the World Wide Web.

Visit the UK Film Studies and World Cinema and Music Import Showcase

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods

Smart & Sexy? Your Queer Advantage is waiting!

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Queer Advantage, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai Razing Ziggurats, on the World Wide Web.

Click here to go directly to my personal blog page called Mordechai's Post-Evangelical-Granola on the World Wide Web.

© 2007 Dr. Mark Leslie Woods