THE National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, organisers of the 'Classic Reels on Wheels' film tour, which has been described as a 'brilliant initiative' by the world-famous actor and director Lord Richard Attenborough, have announced that entry to all the film shows on this year's tour will be free of charge - and the tour is now on it's way to Milford Haven!
'Classic Reels on Wheels' started its journey with a first free film show and reception at the Pola Cinema, Welshpool, on Wales Cinema Day, and during the next two months the 'reels' will roll on with their journey, and stop in Milford Haven, Aberdare and Rhosllanerchrugog near Wrexham.
The tour will give new audiences in each of these areas an opportunity to see classic cinema from Wales and rare footage of their own communities projected back where they belong -on the big screen.
Emphasising the importance and the unique thrill of seeing film on a large screen in a cinema, Lord Attenborough stated: "This is just one of the reasons I applaud 'Classic Reels on Wheels', the brilliant initiative of The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales in Aberystwyth, which is taking some of the national treasures of Wales to the people of Wales in cinemas close to their homes." An unique cinematic experience on the doorstep - and completely free of charge.
Following the success of the launch, the tour will stop at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven on February 28. Lord Gordon Parry will be joining the audience for a reception in the theatre bar from 6.30 onwards, where a selection of films produced by the early pioneer William Haggar - some of which were made in Pembrokeshire - will be shown to live piano accompaniment.
From the bar, the audience will move into the theatre for the main film show, which begins at 7.30 with a film of 'Milford Haven' in 1947 – which is described as the 'little America' of the Nantucket Quakers and whalers. Following this unusual film of the local area, the Archive will screen two of Wales' finest classic films:
Dylan Thomas: Jack Howells, from the Rhymney Valley, became the only Welsh director to gain an Oscar when his 'Dylan Thomas' won the Best Short Documentary Hollywood prize. This elegiac film, superbly shot and lit, explores the poet's old stomping grounds of Swansea and Laugharne. Richard Burton, as on-screen narrator, acts almost as a surrogate Thomas as he distills the essence of the poet's appeal. A timely selection, a month before the Academy Awards in Hollywood - and on the 50-year anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death, as work on several new productions about the poet and his life starts across Wales.
David - Wales' contribution to the Festival of Britain in 1952 is a deeply affecting drama-documentary of triumph-in-adversity, set in Ammanford, about an unsung school caretaker and former miner D. R. Griffiths - or Amanwy - brother of Wales' first Secretary of State, Jim Griffiths. Cardiff's Paul Dickson directs.
Tickets can be booked by contacting the venue directly.