Launch night for the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival

The Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, now in its second year, launches tonight.
The festival held its first event last year in a bid to encourage independent film and cinema in Wales and internationally.
Founder and chief executive Kelvin Guy said his interest in film stemmed from his ancestors — including Gareth Hughes, the first Welsh silent film star in Hollywood, who was his grandmother's cousin.
"I made a documentary about him and met and interviewed some of his friends and family in the US," said Mr Guy.
"So I suppose it is his fault that I had the idea to start a festival in the first place, and what better place than his birthplace of Llanelli here in Wales?"
Mr Guy said anyone who submitted a film for the festival — which launches on Monday night at Stradey Park Hotel, and runs until April 12 — will have it screened during the event.
This year the festival will screen more than 60 films, an increase of 50 per cent on last year's submissions.
"Independent film-makers put a lot of time and money into their projects," said Mr Guy. "So I think it only fair once they have entered and paid to screen their film.
"We also give time at the end of each film for a short Q and A between the audience and film-maker. It's all about fairness. The festival is and will always be, a champion of independent film."
Wynford Ellis Owen is this year's festival president, while the patron of the event is Carmarthen-born Hunky Dory director, Marc Evans.
Tickets for the week are free, and all screenings are at the hotel.
Mr Guy added: "The standard of films is really high this year with quite a few big independent studios entering. You can see the quality. We are looking to support Welsh language films.
"There has never been a film festival in Carmarthenshire, so it is about trying to encourage film-making and give existing film-makers a lifeline."
Throughout the event, films from Wales and the UK will be shown alongside entries from America, France, Portugal and the rest of the world, covering a wide range of genres from documentaries to feature films.
And the maker of the best film will receive a £6,000 prize in recognition of their work.
The 48-year-old former Bryngwyn pupil, who works nights at Morrisons in Pemberton, first got into film-making four years ago when he decided to make his documentary about the life of Gareth Hughes.
He said despite huge interest in the festival, it was being run on a "shoestring" budget — and said he was looking for sponsorship and funding to expand the event next year.
"It's great this year," he said. "If it keeps on growing it's going to become Wales's premier film festival — but we need funding."

Website -
http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/
Festival programme -
http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/page5.html