AmCam: New digital film festival launches

To mark its five-year milestone, Am, the digital home of Welsh culture, has launched AmCam – its first-ever digital film festival that shines a light on creativity and resilience in communities across Wales.

For festival’s first edition, you can watch four original films that document artistic and social activity in communities across Wales. The four films were selected from 50 applications to a highly successful call-out held last year. AmCam is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.

The featured films include:

• ‘Pwy Ydw i Heddiw?’ by Ffion Pritchard, a creative documentary that tells the story of a creative project in Bangor which aims to raise women’s confidence

• ’Village Artists’ by Jon Berg, a portrait of creative life in Cwmllynfell

• ‘Ffenestri Mewnol/Interior Windows’ by Harriet Fleuriot, reflections by older women in the Rhondda responding to a quote by the artist Gwen John

• ‘The Willow Collective’ by Mairéad Ruane, following a neurodiverse-led creative community in Rhyl

“Diverse and entertaining”

Harriet Fleuriot shared: “The AmCam commission encouraged me to reflect more deeply on my relationship with community and explore how to offer space for others within my art-making.

“It was an honour to work with the women who contributed to the film, and I’m very grateful to them for trusting me with the process.”

She added: “The funding allowed me to invest in a professional camera for the first time, giving me new skills and greater independence for future projects. I’ve since noticed a significant shift in my attitude to making work and I feel more confident about developing a more sustainable and generous practice going forward.”

“Community culture”

Lea Glyn, Am’s Head of Content said: “It is extremely exciting to be able to broadcast these films as part of AmCam. It is a privilege to be able to share diverse and entertaining portraits of the creativity of communities from Wales that are not often represented in the mainstream.

“I am looking forward to seeing AmCam develop so that we can continue to share community culture on Am in the future”.

Enjoy the AmCam digital film festival by visiting the brand new Am website at ambobdim.cymru.