The 2011 West Coast Eisteddfod: Welsh Festival of Arts
at the Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California

'Y Chwarelwr' (The Quarryman)
release date 1935

An important black and white documentary film showing different aspects of the slate quarryman's life in Blaenau Ffestiniog. It was the first to be made with a Welsh language soundtrack. Entitled 'Y Chwarelwr' (The Quarryman), documented are the home, work, chapel, courtship, and education of the younger generation. The film was produced by Ifan ab Owen Edwards (1895-1970), the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh-language youth movement, and was directed and written by John Ellis Williams (1901-75). Originally, the film was shown at a number of portable cinemas across Wales between 1935 and 1940.

'Eldra'
release date 2002

A True Story of Famous Welsh Gypsies
The childhood of real-life Romani Eldra Roberts

Eldra was born in 1917, and her father taught her to play the Welsh harp. She soon followed in her ancestral tradition by taking up the Romani way of the harp and learning her forefathers' Gypsy music. It wasn't long before she became a well known player. Eldra joined the land army in the Second World War and was deployed as a rat catcher on Anglesey - she had a way with nature. She was spotted dancing barefoot in the snow outside Bangor University by a student who was immediately obsessed by her unusual wildness. He later married her, and it truly was the story of the Gypsy Girl and the Professor. They had two equally independent daughters, Teleri and Nia, both proud of their Romani roots. Knowing about lifes cruel struggles Eldra wanted the best for her and brought them up to respect the Romano and the Gaje way of life, however Teleri was too much like her mother and the wild Gypsy burned in her veins and still does to this day. Nia contains it better. As old age crept up on their mother, Eldra secretly kept an eye out for a special musician to whom she could entrust the Gypsy harp music of all her ancestors and teach him the exact way it should be played.

One day from the sparkles of the local TV studios came the renowned triple harpist Robin Huw Bowen, completely unaware that he was about to be the chosen one. A rapport developed, but not before a cautious period went by, as Robin had to prove himself genuine and worthy of her trust. Eldra displayed her typical Gypsy wily ways but it was short-lived, and Robin would go round to her house so she could pass down the music, all played by ear, to perfection. If not, Robin had to start again till it was right. Once you've learnt the pieces, only then can you add your own styles to them as you wish. A few years before her death, Eldra was interviewed by producer Bethan Eames - these stories later became the basis for the television drama Eldra scripted by Bethan's sister Manon Eames. Her own composition, Eldra's Polka, features throughout the soundtrack of the film. Teleri, Eldra's daughter, told me: My mother went through a period of not wanting to be interviewed on TV. She said: I'm not going to be on celluloid when I'm gone. How ironic that she's now on an award-winning film. The idea for a film sat on the shelves of the TV company for some years, and it's sad that my mother died before the film was made - she never saw it, said Teleri. Her sister Nia continued: She would have been very pleased that it was finally made. However, she would have been critical if she spotted anything not quite right and would have said so regardless of who heard Eldra's spirit lives on, and she would be pleased that her Romani heritage was getting the celluloid recognition it deserves. (copyright VStream/S4C)

'Y Mabinogi' (Otherworld)
release date 2003

Otherworld is a feature animated film based on celebrated Welsh legends, The Mabigoni.

Premise of the story is as follows:
On his eighteenth birthday, Lleu's world is shaken by the news that he is adopted. On the same day, his friend Rhiannon thinks that she may be pregnant, and Dan, who lives in his big brother's shadow, is as scatty as ever.

They all put their problems aside for the day when they come together to celebrate Lleu's birthday. Venturing on a boat trip along the coast they suddenly see a change in the water. They realise that, on May Eve, they have found the golden doorway to the Otherworld, which can be seen shining deep beneath the waters.

Being an independent and stubborn girl, Rhiannon doesn't think twice before plunging into the sea, and the other two are not far behind. As they swim deeper and deeper and get closer and closer to the golden gate, they are transported many centuries ago to the incredible world of the Mabinogi.

But Rhiannon, Manawydan and Lleu Llaw Gyffes have their own mediaeval problems. Rhiannon is being forced to marry someone she doesn't love, Manawydan is trying to make things right after his brother's malicious scheming, and Lleu is trying to come to terms with his mother's rejection.

While trying to overcome these problems, the characters have to deal with the conflict between fate, personal choice and magic.

Special guest host Aparna Sharma, Assistant Professor of Dept of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA (with expertise on Welsh Cinema), will be introducing each film with a brief commentary on its importance.

Aparna Sharma is a documentary filmmaker whose work combines experimental techniques with visual ethnography. Her films surround communities marginalized and overlooked within the mainstream Indian nationalist discourse. She is presently working in India’s northeastern state of Assam where she has developed a documentary on the fertility site at Kamakhya Temple. Aparna Sharma earned her doctorate in Film by Practice at the University of Glamorgan, South Wales. Aparna Sharma lived in Wales for 7 years and made during which time she made documentary films about the Indian communities of Wales alongside collaborating with a range of performance artists and choreographers in the UK and Italy. Her works have been screened in festival and conferences in the UK, USA, India, Canada, Australia, Italy and Finland. In 2009 Aparna Sharma conducted research on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government for the Welsh Programme at the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival. Aparna Sharma moved to LA in 2009 and is Assistant Professor at UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures.