Twin Town stars reunite for film shot on Gower during lockdown
THE stars of Twin Town have reunited for a new film – written and set during the Covid-19 lockdown.
La Cha Cha, a dark comedy set on a Gower campsite with an array of eccentric elderly residents, reunites director Kevin Allen with stars of the cult ‘ 90s film, including Rhys and Llyr Ifans, Dougray Scott, Keith Allen, Will Thomas, Boyd Clack, Di Botcher, Sue Roderick, and Sion Tudor Owen, as well as Mark Thomas, who once again provides the film score.
Rugby superstars Phil Bennett, Alun Wyn Jones, James Hook, Ken Owens, Scott Quinnell and Sean Fitzpatrick also make an appearance.
The famous AC Cobra from Twin Town, driven by the film’s Lewis twins protagonists over the pitch of Bonymaen RFC, also makes a reappearance.
Conceived and shot during the coronavirus pandemic, it is a standalone project by Kevin Allen, who is due to restart work later this year on cannabis-themed Tin, a long-awaited companion piece to Twin Town, set in Llanelli.
The movie, in which the stars play different characters from the Swansea-set Twin Town, has been filmed entirely with iPhones.
“The film is about a woman who wants to be a ballroom dancer who inherits the campsite from her grandmother,” said Mr Allen.
“The site is full of older residents who do not want to go into care homes. The site is in financial difficulties and so they have to smuggle pharmaceutical contraband to sell to save the site.
“It is an entirely new film, which was written during lockdown. Nearly everyone from Twin Town came back. The response has been incredible. A lot of people were fed up of doing nothing during lockdown so agreed to get involved.
“We’ve obviously had to respect industry Covid guidelines, but as much of the film is set outside we’ve been able to do that without too much difficulty.
“We’ve filmed it with iPhones fitted with anamorphic lenses – speciality tools which affect how images are projected on to the camera sensor. It is the future for film-making.
“The set has felt like a mix of festival and film culture. It’s been unbelievably positive, a real zeitgeist feeling. We’ve battled storms and we have battled everything thrown at us to get it done.
“There’s been a huge amount of effort from locals, many of whom have appeared as extras, and they’ve become part of the film family.”
In addition to the returning Twin Town stars, the film, which is set on Gower’s Werganrose Farm, also features Melanie Walters, from Gavin & Stacey, and Ruby and Sonny Ashbourne Serkis, the children of actor/ director Andy Serkis, who starred as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tamzin Malleson, and Alfie Allen, star of Game of Thrones and Jojo Rabbit – and Mr Allen’s son.
Playing the film’s lead, a character who arrives in Gower to scatter his grandfather’s ashes, is Liam Hourican, whose credits include The IT Crowd and The Tracey Ullman Show.
He said: “I got a phone call out of the blue asking if I would like to audition, which never happens in this business.
“I did not want to watch Twin Town quite yet, because I did not want it to inform my performance.
“It’s my first film lead role, but it was clear from day one I was in safe hands. It’s been very exciting to play a lead in a film with people like Rhys and Dougray.
“We only had four weeks to film it, and we have battled the elements.
“I wondered how it would work with Covid, but it’s been a closed set, and everyone has been tested.
“I have been waiting to work like this all my life. I never thought I would get this opportunity. It is a meaty role and I am on cloud nine.”
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