FROM the extravagant lifestyle of an eccentric Anglesey Marquess to adventures in the lush landscapes of Laos, eclectic stories with Welsh connections await audiences on the big screen in 2025.
Journey across Wales and beyond this year with local and global stories coming to cinemas, all of which have Welsh connections from locations, to cast and behind the scenes talent.
Release Date: Spring 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: Catryn Ramasut, Alice Lusher (co-producers), ie ie Productions (production company). Financed by the Ffilm Cymru Wales Feature Film Production Fund via the National Lottery (delegated via Arts Council of Wales) and Creative Wales.
Synopsis: Quiet, watchful Doe hasn’t gone anywhere since arriving in the UK as a refugee at the age of three from Somalia. Badass Muna, of Pakistani heritage, is the dominant force. As she leads Doe through airport security, the girls are giddy and hysterical but their mood changes as soon as their flight is announced. These girls are not going on holiday, but to Istanbul, to be met by a stranger who will take them to the border to start a new life in Syria. Disaster strikes when their chaperone doesn’t show up, but they form a new plan to continue their journey alone, testing their resolve, faith and friendship.
Release Date: March 2025
Welsh Connections: Joshua Trigg (director, writer)
Synopsis: When a bomb endangers the Pha Tang temple, Satu, an orphan child labourer, decides to head north through the rich and feral landscape of Laos in search of his long-lost mother, with his new photojournalist friend Bo.
Cymru Anabl
Release Date: Spring 2025
Welsh Connections: Various Cymru Anabl (‘Disabled Wales’) was a year-long project focused on improving the accessibility of the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive film and video collections, as well as improving the representation of disabled and Deaf filmmakers in them. It was delivered in partnership with Disability Arts Cymru, TAPE and Hijinx, with support from BFI National Lottery funds. A package of short films including titles such as Blue Kenny will be made available to venues for screenings with descriptive subtitles and audio description.
Oed yr Addewid
Release Date: 2000 (new scan Spring 2025 TBC)
Welsh Connections: Emlyn Williams (writer/director), Stewart Jones, Arwel Gruffydd, Gwenno Elis Hodgkins, Gwyn Vaughan (cast), Alun Ffred Jones (producer)
Synopsis: During 1997, William Davies (Stewart Jones) walks from his house one morning, setting about to break the political system, following 18 years of Tory rule. As election day approaches, William and his family learn a few truths about each other and their feelings about their home. This Bafta-winning film features themes all too relevant almost 25 years later, exploring political disillusionment, social care and ageing.
Release Date: Spring 2025 Welsh Connections: Craig Russell (producer, cast), Tom Gripper, Dan Bailey (producers), Kezia Burrows, Charles Dale, Richard Mylan, Kai Owen, Steven Meo (cast) Synopsis: A gym obsessed serial killer murders and eats a local drug dealer for their protein, inadvertently sparking a brutal and bloodthirsty tit-for-tat turf war between rival drug gangs.
Release Date: 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: John Giwa-Amu (producer), Cardiff, Wales (filming location). Financed by Creative Wales with the support of Ffilm Cymru Wales.
Synopsis: Chronicling the true story of Helen Macdonald (Claire Foy), who loses her well-regarded photojournalist father (Brendan Gleeson) to a heart attack, this film sees Helen find unexpected comfort in the feathery company of a stubborn northern goshawk named Mabel. The challenge of training a young goshawk turns out to be her guiding light through the grieving process and her unique bond with Mabel reintroduces her to the beauty of life and the natural world.
Release Date: 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: Wales (filming location)
Synopsis: The story of Agnes - the wife of William Shakespeare - as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. A human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet.
Release Date: 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: Gareth Evans (director / writer / producer), Ed Talfan (producer), Richard Harrington (cast)
Synopsis: The story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.
Release Date: 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: Celyn Jones (director), Callum Scott Howells (cast), Mad as Birds (production company). Financed by the Ffilm Cymru Wales Feature Film Production Fund via the National Lottery (delegated via Arts Council of Wales) and Creative Wales.
Synopsis: When Henry Cyril Paget inherits a vast fortune, his extravagant lifestyle and eccentric conduct lead to financial ruin, culminating in his impoverished death in France at 29, having squandered his immense wealth.
Welsh Connections: Marc Evans (director), Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Aneurin Barnard (cast), Ed Talfan and Hannah Thomas (producers, Severn Screen). Financed by BBC Cymru Wales and the Ffilm Cymru Wales Feature Film Production Fund via the National Lottery (delegated via Arts Council of Wales) and Creative Wales.
Synopsis: Richard dreams of becoming an actor, but his ambitions are in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline. Mr Burton recognises the raw talent in his pupil, and makes it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father.
Welsh Connections: John Giwa-Amu (producer). Financed by the Ffilm Cymru Wales Feature Film Production Fund via the National Lottery (delegated via Arts Council of Wales) and Creative Wales.
Synopsis: Charles Blakey, an African-American man living in Sag Harbor, is stuck in a rut, out of luck and about to lose his ancestral home when a peculiar white businessman with a European accent offers to rent his basement for the summer.
Release Date: 2025 TBC
Welsh Connections: Craig Roberts (director), Cliff Edge Pictures (production company), Rhys Ifans (cast)
Synopsis: The Scurry follows two pest controllers who are called to an eco-café in a country park to investigate what begins as a routine vermin problem. As nightfall approaches an avalanche of deranged squirrels descend, wreaking revenge and mayhem on the staff and visitors in the park. With many fatalities, the survivors take shelter in the café as a freak storm takes out the power and communications, leaving them isolated and under attack.
Welsh Connections: Adam Partridge (producer), Morfydd Clark (cast). Financed by the Ffilm Cymru Wales Feature Film Production Fund via the National Lottery (delegated via Arts Council of Wales) and Creative Wales.
Synopsis: After the brutal murder of their family, barely teenage Millie and her Uncle John embark on a brutal mission of revenge and retribution. But as they get closer to the people responsible, Millie must decide if she is ready to follow the bloody path of vengeance… and its violent, premature journey into adulthood.
Welsh Connections: Harri Grace (producer), Caryl Lewis (associate producer)
Synopsis: The Walk is based on an extraordinary artistic endeavour in 2021 which saw a 3.5m tall puppet called Amal travel from the Syrian border, all the way across Europe. The film follows the journey of Amal as she searches for safety and a place where she feels welcome. The Walk mixes vérité documentary with fantastical semi-scripted elements to create a fairytale for adults, exploring the memories, dreams and fears that make up the refugee experience.
Out There
Release Date: 2025
Welsh Connections: Aneurin Barnard, Iwan Rheon, Michael Sheen (cast), Katie Dolan (producer)
Synopsis: After 16-year-old astronomy enthusiast Maz witnesses a UFO above her Welsh seaside town, she teams up with her sceptical best mate and an outcast conspiracy theorist to launch an investigation that will put her relationships, and her life, in danger. Full of heartfelt drama and comedic turns, Out There is a feel-good film about belief, finding meaning and coming to terms with loss.
Welsh Connections: Lowri Roberts (producer), Maisie Williams (associate producer)
Synopsis: Mission is a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (George MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme, embarking on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.
Welsh Connections: Nan Davies (producer)
Synopsis: From the co-producers of recent success Kneecap, the film follows an eight-year-old boy (newcomer Ezra Carlisle) as he navigates life after the death of his mother while his father swings between manic creativity and debilitating anxiety. The arrival of a Bulgarian au pair (played by Maria Bakalova), brings unexpected changes to the household.
Welsh Connections: Rob Alexander (producer) Synopsis: This feature documentary follows disabled actor/writer David Proud. He has always longed for a family – but the fertility techniques he needs to access are designed to engineer “healthy children” and screen out disabled people like him.