Help get Welsh films on TV and Welsh music on the radio for St. David’s Day
Help get Welsh films on TV and Welsh music on the radio for St. David’s Day.
It is that time of year again; Christmas and New Year are done and done, so it is time to get our plans for St. David’s Day under way.
Over the past few years there has been some pretty good success around the US & Canada by good people such as yourselves contacting local radio stations and requesting Welsh music and greetings for St. David’s Day.
This year how about we up the ante - as well as contacting radio station how about we all try and contact local PBS stations and cable movie channels to see if they will show some Welsh programs and films too? Well it doesn’t hurt to ask does it!
To make it a bit easier, listed below is some contact information for selected cable movie channels and television stations as well a list of films they may be able to show.
Local PBS Stations
Some local affiliate stations purchased the rights last year to show ‘Katherine Jenkins: Live at the O2’ and ‘Men Aloud – Live From Wales’, whether they are still able to screen these shows probably varies from station to station, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if they can.
Over the years I have watched the following films on my local Chicago area PBS affiliates, so they are at least available to some stations: The Proud Valley (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Corn Is Green (1945).
For a list of PBS affiliates please click the links below:
http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PBS_member_stations
Turner Classic Movies
TCM's vast library of films spans several decades of cinema and includes thousands of film titles from MGM, United Artists, Warner Bros, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Productions, Columbia Pictures, StudioCanal, Janus Films and others.
I believe the following selection of films might be available for them to screen:
The Citadel (1938), The Proud Valley (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Corn Is Green (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Tiger Bay (1959), Zulu (1964), Under Milk Wood (1972).
Please send this list of films with a request to screen them in honour of St. David’s Day to: http://www.tcm.com/contact-tcm.html
BBC America
From what I know BBC America does not have a vast library of films at its fingertips and it is unlikely that they have that many Welsh films to offer. However contacting them to show a film starring Welsh actors or a Welsh TV series for St. David’s Day might not be a bad idea. If enough of us request say the whole of series one of ‘Gavin & Stacey’ be shown they might be persuaded.
You can contact BBC America at: http://www.bbcamerica.com/contact-us
IFC Films
I am not 100% sure what the back catalogue of films available by IFC is like, it would be worth taking a stab in the dark by requesting the following titles to be screened for St. David’s Day though:
Twin Town (1997), House of America (1997), Human Traffic (1999), Solomon & Gaenor (1999), Very Annie Mary (2001), Eldra (2002), The Edge of Love (2008), Sleep Furiously (2008), Patagonia (2010), Colin (2010), Mr. Nice (2011).
Oddly, IFC did make a film a few years ago called ‘Pontypool’ don’t get excited it’s a sort of zombie film set in ‘Pontypool’, Ontario.
You can contact IFC at: www.ifc.com/contact-us
Fox Movie Channel
Fox Movie Channel shows film primarily from 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, etc. I am aware that they have shown some of the following in the past, so it would be worth asking if they could do so again for St. David's Day this year.
Human Traffic (1999), Twin Town (1997), The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995).
Contact Fox at: http://www.foxmoviechannel.com/contact.php
Comment
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Comment by Thomas Bailey on January 21, 2012 at 12:09am -
A day long Torchwood fest on the Bebe - America would be good too!
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Comment by Carey Dietrich Finley on January 20, 2012 at 11:33pm -
Don't forget "Coming Up Roses"!
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Comment by Brian Stephen John on January 20, 2012 at 11:06am -
One of the best Welsh films is "On the Black Hill" -- now rather dated and a bit slow, but full of atmosphere. And the book is great too......
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Comment by The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society on January 19, 2012 at 10:56pm -
@Lesli - Shoot us the info on the shows, putting together a list of St. David's day events going on around the country, would be good to add that.
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Comment by The Chicago Tafia Welsh Society on January 19, 2012 at 10:53pm
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Not sure what's in the catalog for some of these stations best bet is to hit them up for what they might have or might be able to show, hell if we could get a station to agree to feature a series of films with Welsh actors in for the night it would be something. Get writing to the stations, the more of us the better!
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Comment by Alan Evans on January 19, 2012 at 6:56pm -
Just watched the fastest American Indian starring Port Talbot's own Sir Anthony Hopkins. WOW! Excellent film, does that count as Welsh?
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Comment by Lesli ben Jenkins on January 19, 2012 at 6:49pm -
Our local PBS station also ran 'Framed"last year.Great film aboutremoving paintings from the nation museum and keeping them safe in a slate quarry in Gwynedd staring Trevor Eve.Excellent film.Les Jenkins.
I will be running 2 of my special Welsh Britrock shows on K She 2 in StLouis during St Davids week.1 new and 1 old.
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Comment by Cary Granite on January 19, 2012 at 5:08pm -
There will be a (small) Welsh film festival in New York City in March, in collaboration with the Jewish Heritage Centre. I will also try to organise some auxiliary screenings. Contact me directly if you want more info. Cheers, Cary
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Comment by Brian Stephen John on January 19, 2012 at 4:29pm
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What we need is more decent Welsh films and TV drama series to be made NOW -- some of the above films are great, but others are very hackneyd and dated -- and pander to the belief that Wales is full of coal mines and quaint people. And "Under Milk Wood" is my vote for the worst film ever made.....
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Comment by Michael Ellis on January 19, 2012 at 4:14pm -
If you fancy investing in an absolutely fantastic CD then see http://www.amazon.com/Forgetting-Shadows-History-Those-Feet/dp/B000...
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