Bring out the top hats and ballgowns, it’s BAFTA awards season in Wales.
The annual ceremony, which will take place in the city of Newport on 5 October, celebrates the brightest stars from across the Welsh film and television industry, spotlighting superb work on projects that have been released in the last 12 months.
Awards are given out in a wide range of categories from best actor, actress and director to awards recognising excellence in presenting, editing and sound engineering.
This year, the productions up for the most BAFTA awards are Lost Boys and Fairies, a critically-lauded BBC series about two gay men going through the adoption process, and Until I Kill You, a four-part true crime miniseries shown on ITV. Both productions were shot in Wales (adding to a long list of films and TV shows filmed here!), with the former receiving seven nominations and the latter securing five.
Other productions with a handful of nominations to their name include Mr Burton, a film about the life of the school teacher who took a young Richard Burton under his wing, and Cleddau, a crime drama series created for the BBC and filmed in both Welsh and English. The two projects boast five BAFTA Cymru nominations each.
Elsewhere, household name Rhys Ifans, who currently stars in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, and Harry Lawtey, who plays Welsh actor Richard Burton in the aforementioned Mr Burton film, are among those battling it out in the Best Actor category. In the Best Actress category, nominees include Elen Rhys, who starred in Cleddau, and Katy Wix, who features in the Channel 4 sitcom Big Boys.
Away from the big names, the awards will also shine a spotlight on deserving, lesser-known works from the last year, with BAFTA nods for everything from a children’s science show (Pwysutpam?) to a short animated film about a young girl struggling to come to terms with her mixed-raced identity (Liminal Roots).
Speaking about the breadth of the talent on show amongst this year’s nominees, Lee Walters, BAFTA Cymru chair, said, ‘Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Cymru nominees, whose outstanding talent and creativity have delivered an incredible line-up of must-watch films, television and performances.’
‘These nominations celebrate the strength of Welsh storytelling and our fast-growing screen industries. Through the BAFTA Cymru Awards and our year-round learning programmes and events, we’re proud to champion Welsh talent and can’t wait to honour their achievements next month,’ he added.
See the full list of nominees for the BAFTA Cymru Awards on the organisation’s official website.
Alternatively, check out our list of seven films to watch for an introduction to Welsh cinema.