Welsh indie, Cwmni Da, has set up a new drama hub with actor and director Martin Thomas at the helm.
The move is part of a “reset” at the Caernarfon-based company following the departure of managing director Llion Iwan who left to become the new chief content officer at S4C after six years at Cwmni Da.
Sioned Wiliam, former comedy controller at ITV, has also returned to the board as a non-executive director after a stint as interim chief executive at S4C and Anna Roberts has also been appointed to join the finance team.
Martin has worked at Cwmni Da as a freelance director and producer for a decade on shows including S4C children’s show, Deian a Loli and Caernarfon-based drama series, STAD, which will be shown on S4C before the end of the year.
He said: “I’m fortunate there are so many talented people here, both staff and freelancers, in every aspect of the production, from the scripting to the production crews and actors of course.
“The fact that Deian a Loli is still being nominated and winning awards after 10 years shows the strength of the brand and the quality of our small team’s work.
“I’m now prepping to film the next 10 episodes over the summer with the current family and we’re now on our fifth set of characters because the family regenerates, so to speak, every two years.”
“The offer to head up the new drama hub at Cwmni Da came as a huge but very pleasant surprise.
“We’ve always had a very strong relationship and they have shown faith in me giving me the opportunity to direct and produce Deian a Loli so it feels like a natural progression.
“It’s brilliant that Cwmni Da are showing so much positivity by investing in drama and scripted content, whether they’re short films, films, drama series, standalone dramas – the possibilities are endless.
“It’s really important to have drama anchored in North Wales – there is so much expertise and talent here and there are gripping stories that need to be told about North Wales by the people of North Wales.
“Drama and scripted content cover a broad spectrum – everything from children’s drama to community-driven and character-driven drama and comedy to gritty detective stories all the way to films and so much more in between. We want to unleash our energy and creativity to do something really special.”
Interim managing director Bethan Griffiths, said: “We were already producing and developing drama and Martin was a part of that and we wanted to ensure that drama and scripted content continue to be produced in North Wales and a focus at Cwmni Da.
“We want to retain our critical mass of expertise and talent so creating the new drama hub is a natural and logical progression of what we’re doing already.
“We have a lot of really talented people who love scripted content in all its forms.
“We’ve been producing Deian a Loli for a decade and we’ve made 100 episodes and Martin has been part of that success from the very beginning.
“He is a perfect fit for to drive this forward because he is such a fantastic, passionate and meticulous director.
“These are the qualities that will help us realise our full potential in this area because we have the ability and capacity to do so much more.
Pictures by Rick Matthews
Jon Creamer
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