Film’s going to shake things up
DO you remember the alien invasion of Cwmtwrch in the Swansea Valley on New Year’s Eve a couple of years ago?
Or were you in a local hostelry dancing the night away to a semi-pro covers band who were so uncool they made The Wurzels look like Coldplay?
The Cwmtwrch invasion occurred in the 2017 film Canaries, which held a spot in Sky Cinema’s Most Watched Movies list for three months and has just been released on DVD.
Canaries was produced by Craig Russell, who grew up in Cwmtwrch, and despite having a micro-budget, thanks to the talent in front of and behind the camera the film is as entertaining as any Hollywood blockbuster.
Cornwall-based Craig (who is also an actor) is returning to West Wales to shoot a horror film called Protein, about a traumatised ex-soldier who,
unable to afford the protein diet he needs to lift his target weight, kills and eats those who can!
Without fava nice Chianti.
Filming should have started last November but was delayed beans and a
because of the pandemic and is expected to get under way around Carmarthen, Llanelli and Cwmtwrch this week.
Along with director Tony Burke and executive producer Huw Penallt Jones, Craig has teamed up with Carmarthenshire-based
production company Broadside Films, which is headed up by Tom Gripper and Dan Bailey.
Craig boasts an extensive catalogue of work as an actor, including Netflix’s The Last Kingdom.
In Protein he’ll play the lead character, so he’s currently dropping weight and reshaping his body.
The sheer logistics of shooting in a pandemic is a huge challenge for the cast and crew as Covid affects everything.
Appropriate accommodation is required for the cast and team; there’s strict social distancing on and off set; actors need a car each to get to and from the locations; and anyone coming on set with a cough or temperature would cause delays because safety comes first.
Craig hopes to premiere Protein in Cwmtwrch, then get it out to the film festivals circuit and from there into cinemas.
In the meantime, if you live near Cwmtwrch – hide all your protein shakes!