Dic Penderyn film company hits at legal action against investor who pulled out

Martin Shipton

The head of a film company planning to make a movie about Welsh hero Dic Penderyn has hinted that legal action will be taken against an anonymous investor who reneged on a commitment to put money into the project.

In December 2025 Calon Films announced it was ready to press ahead with Iniquity, the story depicting the wrongful conviction and execution of Penderyn following the Merthyr Uprising in 1831.

We reported how the mystery investor had pledged £4m because of their belief in the project, which would see Penderyn’s story brought to the big screen for the first time.

The investor was joined by fellow Executive Producers Brian Jones of Castell Howell Foods), Professor Sir Christopher Evans and Paul Thandi, whose support was said to bring credibility to what the team hoped would be a historic moment for Welsh filmmaking.

As such financial backing is rare for independent cinema, the team highlighted that the investment is a powerful show of confidence in writer Stuart Broad, director Chris Crow, and the producing partnership between Calon Films and Sterling Pictures.

As a result of the investment, Iniquity was said to stand among significant independent Welsh film projects previously developed, increasing its potential to influence Welsh cultural identity and attract international attention.

Often described as a Welsh Braveheart, Iniquity tells the emotional and deeply human story of Dic Penderyn, the innocent labourer executed after the Merthyr Uprising of 1831.

Penderyn (real name, Richard Lewis) became a symbol of injustice, resilience and working- class pride, themes that still resonate in Wales as strongly as they did almost two hundred years ago.

With “hiraeth at its core and social justice at its heart”, the team hopes Iniquity will become one of the most culturally critical Welsh films ever made.

The film would be shot in and around Port Talbot, in a bid to bring training, jobs and creative opportunities into the community as steelworkers and their families face an uncertain future.

Pardon

Running alongside the film is a renewed campaign for Dic Penderyn’s posthumous pardon, helping to shine a light on a historical injustice still felt across Wales. Tourism and cultural development plans for Port Talbot will also sit beside the project, showcasing the town’s history, identity and creative ambition.

Calon Films Director, Stuart Broad said at the time: “To receive a £m commitment at this stage and from Executive Producers of this calibre, is extraordinary. Their belief in the importance of this story reflects everything we stand for as a studio: courage, culture and ambition.

“With their support, Iniquity becomes more than a film. It becomes a moment for Wales. And at the centre of this moment is [the investor], whose commitment, vision and belief in Wales have brought this film to the brink of becoming a reality.”

However, last month it emerged that the anonymous investor had pulled out, apparently leaving the production high and dry.

Now Calon has released a Facebook video in which Broad outlines the possibility of legal action against the investor who pulled out.

He says: “As you already know, we at Calon Films are due to launch an incredibly ambitious and robust crowdfunding campaign in the coming weeks and months ahead. We are not naive enough, though, to think that we’re going to make up a £4m shortfall through crowdfunding alone, and that is why we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes, developing a financial strategic growth model with a view to principal photography starting in May 2027.

“Here’s a bit more about how we will aim to raise that finance. We have spent the last 18 months pitching our film to Welsh-centric and left-leaning high net worth, which has proved fruitful in terms of investment in now from individuals like Professor Sir Christopher Evans and Brian Jones of Castell Howell.

“We will be looking for replacement investors built on the relationships that we made over the last 18 months. And that is one means by which we’re looking to refinance our movie. We’re also looking to explore developing relationships with public funding bodies like BFI, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Film Cymru Wales.

“Another means by which we will be looking to secure finance towards Iniquity the movie is quite simply by holding certain individuals to account.

“As you’re all well aware, we spent a lot of time, passion, energy, endeavour and money pitching our film to high net worth. Last year at the investor’s evenings that we put on, which the said investor attended all three, was quite happy to drink our wine and eat our food and accept our lavish gifts. They even attended a launch party in January of this year, where they spoke on camera about that investment. Only six days later, to default on the first payment and continuously change the reasons as to why they are distancing themselves from this very special project.

“And that’s absolutely fine by us guys. But we do feel that certain individuals like that need to be held to account, and that is why we’re working in partnership with our lawyers to negotiate a buyout of that contract and to hold that person to account for the choices that they have made.

“But let’s finish on a happy note. The last means by which we will aim to raise funds for Iniquity the movie will be revealed around Christmas time this year and has a beautiful parallel with what our ancestors launched in 1831. We look forward to telling you that in due course.”