From Wales to the world - celebrating major creative success stories
O Gymru i'r byd – dathlu llwyddiannau creadigol mawr
What do a tender story about a gay couple’s journey to adoption, a zombie survival shooter game, and a swathe of breath-taking fire-breathing dragons have in common?
Wales’ incredible creative industry brought them all to life - and to our screens - in 2024.
Creative Wales is the Welsh Government’s agency for promoting and supporting the nation’s creative industries, from TV, film and animation to games, publishing and music. It also provides funding to bring unique production and training and up-skilling opportunities to Wales and Wales-based companies.
In the past six months alone, global TV, film and gaming audiences have had the chance to see many Welsh-related productions, including:
- World-renowned Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon – filmed on location across north Wales, with the area’s dramatic scenery standing-in for the mythical lands of Dragonstone and the Riverlands, amongst others.
- BBC’s Lost Boys and Fairies – a love-filled yet heartbreaking short series about a gay couple’s journey to adoption, filmed predominantly in the capital, and masterfully intertwined with the Welsh language.
- Children’s adventure animation feature Kensuke’s Kingdom, which hits cinemas this Friday, is a novel brought to life for the big screen, featuring the voices of Cillian Murphy and Sally Hawkins. Cardiff animators Bumpybox partnered on the film’s creation.
- Zombie shooter / horror video game Sker Ritual – with a strong Welsh backstory, it became one of the best-selling PC and console games in the world within the first week of being launched.
And it’s not just our screens which have been lit-up with Welsh-associated adventure. Creative Wales has also supported the creation of a digital map of Wales’ vast and ever-expanding music scene.
Available via the Live Music Research website, the map notes 496 businesses across the 22 local authorities of Wales, comprising of: 75 recording studios, 7 dedicated rehearsal studios and 414 music venues of various types.
The Minister for Creative Industries, Jack Sargeant, has been visiting several creative businesses today [Thursday 1st August] in north Wales to see their work and hear about how Welsh Government support is helping different strands of the sector thrive across Wales.
The Minister said:
“It’s been a fantastic six months for Welsh creative arts, both nationally and internationally. At various points in 2024 products supported by Creative Wales have topped both gaming and streaming charts, showcasing our world-beating talent, locations and creativity.
“We really are in a golden age of Welsh creative production.
“But we’re not resting on our laurels. We’re committed to building the industry in Wales over the long term. That includes supporting exemplary companies like those I visited in north Wales today – established Welsh language record label Sain is working with exciting new artists, alongside its traditional roots, and employee-owned Cwmni Da is pioneering international co-production with Creative Wales support.
“I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from Cymru’s growing music, film, tv and gaming industries.”
Summing up the past six months, Dr David Banner MBE, CEO & Co-Founder of Wales Interactive, the company behind Sker Ritual, said:
“What a rollercoaster! We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive reception, support and love that Sker Ritual is getting around the world since its recent release.
“It’s been the culmination of lots of hard work, first in getting established and then in bringing so many talented and passionate individuals together to help make our vision a reality. Creative Wales have been an invaluable supporter throughout.”
Describing the impact of Bumpybox’s skillset on the production of Kensuke’s Kingdom, Camilla Deakin, Producer at Lupus Films said:
“We had a fantastic experience working with some of the Bumpybox team on our other films, including Producer Sam Wright and Lead Compositor Neil Martin.
“We knew them to be highly creative and professional and that having their team of compositors in Cardiff – a short train journey from our studio in London – would be a huge asset.
“They were also excited by the prospect of pushing the boat out artistically and technically; a gift for directors Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry and our Cardiff-born and based art director, Michael Shorten.”
Notes to editors
House of the Dragon – Creative Wales’ support helped to employ 250 local people as crew members through CrewHQ, a Warner Bros Discovery training initiative.
In addition, Creative Wales and CrewHQ investment provided an extensive and innovative trainee programme that included both upskilling and entry level opportunities for over 30 people, while outreach schemes for local people included set visits, masterclasses, and the creation of resources for use in schools.
Lost Boys and Fairies – Creative Wales’ support helped ensure for every pound invested, £12 was put directly back into the Welsh economy. It also secured 13 trainee and professional up-skilling opportunities on set.
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Creative Wales provided up to £100k to Lupus Films who partnered with Cardiff based animation studio, Bumpybox on the feature film. UK film charity, Into Film, has also worked to produce a fully bilingual resource that aligns with the Curriculum for Wales. The feature is released in UK cinemas on 2nd August.
Sker Ritual – Wales Interactive, the Penarth-based company behind Sker Ritual, has previously received funding support from Welsh Government and Creative Wales.
Live Music Map – On behalf of Creative Wales, Professor Paul Carr (University of South Wales) undertook a piece of research to map Wales's music industry, focusing on live music venues, recording studios and rehearsal spaces. The final digital map was worked on in conjunction with Creative Wales. It is available here: www.livemusicresearch.org/maps/wales
Sain - Sain studio and record label provides recording, rehearsal and post-production services for music, audio and audio-to-video. Last year the business was a recipient of £10,000 from Music Revenue Fund 1 which assisted with recording albums, production of a video and PR for; Endaf, Gwenan Gibbard, Pedair, Shantis album of various Sain artists.
Cwmni Da – Creative Wales supported World's Greatest Sporting Arenas - an example of co-operation between Cwmni Da, Irish language broadcaster TG4, and production companies Loosehorse, which has received the support of LIC China, Jeonju Television (JTV) and the Korean Communications Agency (KCA).