Best of Welsh Film and TV
We reflect on some of the best Welsh film and television releases of 2023.
It’s that time of year again! With Christmas nearing and 2023 drawing to a close, we take a look back at some of the best art and cultural offerings to come out of Wales this year. Today, we’re reflecting on the best Welsh film & television of 2023.
We at Wales Arts Review have put our heads together to select our top recommendations for Welsh film and television of 2023; read on for the full list.
Anfamol (TV)
Meaning ‘Unmotherly’, Anfamol is the much-anticipated TV production of Rhiannon Boyle’s 2021 play. Widely acclaimed for its honesty about topics ranging from sex to IVF, and birth to postnatal depression, the show is primarily a monologue, centred on protagonist Ani (played by Bethan Ellis Owen), a forty-year-old woman who makes the decision to become a parent on her own by using a sperm donor. The TV adaptation brings these same topics to life, while still managing to capture the lightness and warmth of the original stage version, completely shattering the fourth wall as it does so. Read Emma Schofield's take on Anfamol, here.
Dr Who (TV)
Back on our screens and back under the leadership of Russel T. Davies, Dr Who returned to our screens this autumn for the 60th anniversary specials. As David Tennant and Catherine Tate reprise their roles for one last spin around the universe, the series is gearing up for its new Dr in the form of Ncuti Gatwa who will take over the role from the Christmas special. Still being made by BBC Wales and Cardiff-based production company, Bad Wolf, the series continues to take the world of the Dr to a new audience of veiwers.
Samos on Fire: Songs in Asylum (Film)
In a refugee camp in Samos, Greece, a group of musicians from Africa and the Middle East meet up to make music. There is no stopping their sessions despite having to contend with fires, earthquakes, and worst of all… the bewildering asylum process. Samos on Fire, a short-documentary directed by Fareid Atta, follows these refugees and shows us that in a world that often seems divided and fractured, music has the power to bring us together, to remind us of our shared humanity, and to create a sense of belonging and connection that transcends borders and boundaries. Read more about Samos on Fire, here.
Read the full list at Wales Arts Review, here.