Our Films
You can view a selection of our films on our YouTube Channel or on this web site. Films from each of our departments are listed below.
Click on the links below to view the films. We recommend a broadband connection in order to view these movies.
Animation
Wishing on a Star
The film follows the fortunes of a girl called Jessie who is suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. Misunderstood by her classmates and teachers alike Jessie's life seems to go from one disappointing day to another. The night before her 15th birthday, however, she falls asleep wishing for a friend who would understand her. When she wakes up it soon becomes apparent that this day isn't just another ordinary day in her life. The friend she wished for materialises, her teachers become aware of her talents, and her classmates finally realise that there is a lot more to Jessie than meets the eye.
The film was conceived, written and produced by the young people themselves and drew on their own real-life experiences of life with Aspergers. The result is a heartwarming tale that has already caused a few tears to be shed by those that have seen the film.
Deep
This short film was made in a day as part of a 'DEEP' Equal Project (supported by The Welsh Development Agency) workshop at Valley and Vale Community Arts, where a group of 'Change Agents' from around Wales, who were doing research into barriers to employment, expressed their feelings through the various art forms we offered. Tim Smith, our animation worker, worked with one of the women in the group to produce this short film in a single day (quite a challenge when animating) and the film shows some of the many obstacles or barriers to employment which were being researched by the group. This animation was great fun to do and shows the versatility of animation - it doesn't always involve huge amounts of drawing or design but can effectively express an issue, tell a story or put across a message extremely powerfully.
Frog and Newt
Part of the 'Creative Journeys' project, working in partnership with MIND in the Vale. Working at drop-in centres at Barry, Penarth and Llantwit Major we offered a variety of art forms including dance, drama, video, photography and animation and this animation was made by adults at the Dove Centre in Penarth.
Pictures and Poems from Pentre
We worked with children from from Pentre Primary School in the Rhondda Valley, looking at their history and their community through the creative media of dance, drama, animation and video.
Red, Amber, Green
Red, Amber, Green, a film about dealing with bullying, was made by young people at Kenfig Comprehensive School working with facilitator Tim Smith as part of our New Opportunities Fund Arts and Media project in the Bridgend Borough.
Sera
Over the past few years we have been working in partnership with Women's Aid in Bridgend and the Domestic Violence Forum, Bridgend, working with young people in the borough to stimulate discussion, awareness and understanding around the complex issues of domestic abuse, violence and bullying. This film was made by a group of young men from Ogmore Comprehensive School.
Think Safe, Act Safe, Be Safe
This Health and Safety video resource was made by young people during their project which involved landscaping and renovating a walled garden area at The Wallach Clifford Hostel in Cardiff. This film offers a step-by-step accessible guide for anyone running an event or activity and is especially geared at young people. The video is accompanied with a booklet, follows a real project and includes sections on different aspects of Health and Safety, including animation to make it more fun to work through with a group.
Dance
Dance Montage
This montage contains clips from some of our dance workshops, performances and films from the last few years.
Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots
Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots evolved out of the 'Echoes of The BeeWee' project which was originally funded by an Arts Council of Wales Creative Wales Award in 2003. The piece was then developed for the Welsh Independent Dance 'Dance Bytes tour in 2004.
Being Small
Being Small was made by a group of children at St Mary The Virgin C.W Primary School in Butetown in Cardiff, working with Valley and Vale Community Arts.
This project used dance, music and film to encourage the children to explore what it feels like being small and expressing their feelings through creativity.
Chiaroscuro
This performance piece was created by Lizzie Davies, Dance Development Worker, working with Good Company Dance Theatre, our dance touring company from Bridgend Day Centre.
Fields of Gold
Dance Development Worker Saydi Williams created this piece with Good Company Dance Theatre and this film shows the performance at The Berwyn Centre, Nantymoel and includes a large scale video backdrop which was made by Jon Ruddick.
Girls First
We have been working in partnership with the Sports Development Department of Bridgend County Borough Council over the last few years making links between sport and dance and using dance as a new way of encouraging young people to get active.
Selection Box
This piece was performed by Split Level Dance Theatre from Persondy Day Centre, Bridgend at the Berwyn Centre, Nantymoel with poetry created by adults from MIND in the Vale. Part of a new development programme for Valley and Vale, mixing art forms and, more importantly, bringing different groups together creatively.
Willows High School
We have been working at Willows High School in Cardiff for several years as part of the 'Our World, Our Journeys' project. In this piece, dance is being used to tell a story and express emotions.
Drama
Being Real
This film was made in Cardiff working in partnership with the Sherman Theatre on the 'Acting Out' project working with young people on alternative curriculum programmes exploring their lives through drama and multimedia.
Billy Whizz
Funded by a Commedia Millennium Award, this film was made by young people from Ogmore Vale and explores issues around drugs in the South Wales Valleys.
Complicated Maths
Funded by The Prince's Trust Cymru and working in partnership with Youth Works, we made this film with young people living on the Wildmill estate in Bridgend. The title and the ideas came about through drama workshops and group dialogue.
Film Department
Best Friends
This is a film about a girl who is dyslexic. Sasha is 9 years old and she gets bullied in school. Sasha's mum and her teacher don't really understand her problems. Sasha would be very lonely if it weren't for her two best friends Angelica and Christina.
This film aims to raise awareness about dyslexia. Some of the young filmmakers in this project are dyslexic and we worked with them in Betws Primary School to share their experiences, write the script and produce this film.
I Was There
This short film was made by Paula Richards as part of the BBC Capture Wales Digital Storytelling project. This film explores themes of Paula's life journey, her history and the sense of community she remembers from her childhood during the miners' strikes in Wales in the 1980's.
The Digital Storytelling project works with people of all ages across the world, using digital media to craft, record, share, and value the stories of individuals and communities:
"Every community has a memory of itself.
Not a history, nor an archive, nor an authoritative record...
A living memory, an awareness of a collective identity woven of a thousand stories."
The Centre for Digital Storytelling, CA, USA
Jasmine
"Jasmine is a 14 year old girl. She has lots of friends, likes listening to music and loves dancing."
This film was made by an all-girl Asylum Seekers' group in Cardiff working with Valley and Vale.
This short drama explores the different worlds and pressures of their home and school lives during a time of increasing anti-Muslim feelings and their need to define their own identity.
Lord of the Ring
Lord of the Ring was made by a group of young people in Betws. The film tells the story of two brothers Ethan and Jack who recently lost their mother. Jack finds release in boxing and spends all his time training. Ethan on the other hand is lost and starts to experiment with drugs. This film is about the relationship between the two brothers and their way of dealing with their grief.
Supported by the Lottery through the UK Film Council's First Light Initiative and Betws Boys and Girls Club.
Sea of Bitterness
Sea of Bitterness was made by Year 7-11 students at Fitzalan High School in Cardiff, working with Film Development Worker Tracy Pallant. The group had very clear ideas of the way they wanted their film to look, and worked hard on set and costume design, talking through their ideas with Maggie Russell, Head of Talent at BBC Wales, and also meeting with local film composer John Hardy to discuss their ideas for the soundtrack. The film dealt with some difficult and painful issues which were discussed during the script writing process.
This project gave the young people the opportunity to explore emotions, to experiment with ideas, to think in images, to learn skills in camera work, sound recording, directing and editing, to make a film that they are proud of.
Viva Elvis
Viva Elvis was written and produced by young people aged 16-18 from Coleg Gwent in Pontypool working with Valley and Vale Community Arts.
Viva Elvis tells the story of 16 year old Memphis 'Prez' Evans who is trying to help his dad, Elvis Impersonator Pelvis Esley get his life back on track. Prez and his friend Lisa work with Pelvis on a new act that will dazzle everyone at the forthcoming Porthcawl Elvis Festival. This moving and funny film explores the relationship between Prez and his father.
Supported by the Lottery through the UK Film Council's First
Light
Initiative.
The Sound of the Drum
This video was made by young Africans living in Cardiff, working with Valleyand Vale Community Arts. Sound of the Drum tells the story of Nahimana who has escaped from a war-torn country in Africa. During preparations for the Cardiff Carnival he meets Annie. They fall in love. One day Nahimana receives a letter which could change everything.
Supported by the Lottery through the UK Film Council's First Light
Initiative.
Projects Showreel 2005
A short clip of some of our projects from 2005 to give you a feel of our work - showing a range of dance, drama, carnival, film and mixed artform projects with a range of community groups.
A Patchwork of Betws Life
This People's History film uses film interviews, photographs and images and features a range of members of the Betws community with different experiences of the village, to create a film patchwork of Betws in 2005. Facilitated by Sophie Cobb. Funded by Communites First and supported by The Betws Partnership.
Beyond the Number, Beyond the Crime
This film was made with 10 inmates from HMP Parc Prison, Bridgend, working with facilitator Katja Stiller. In the film the young people describe how it feels being in jail and their lives outside; they talk about their fears, hopes and dreams for their future. Funded by Academi, The European Social Fund, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and The Arts Council of Wales.
Creative Minds
This film uses words, images and music to explore a range of issues and thoughts about life. This series of short individual films was made by a group of service users at MIND in the Vale who wanted to use film to express themselves, and was facilitated by Neil Williams and Tim Smith of Valley and Vale.
Good Housewife Guide
This short film was made for our International Women's Day project in 2005; Family Album, a multimedia installation which was funded by the National Museums and Galleries, Wales and launched on International Women's Day at the National Museum in Cardiff. This project received great feedback and the bilingual installation was seen by over 3000 people in Spring 2005.
Hear the Silence
We worked in partnership with Bridgend Women's Aid to facilitate this project, working with the Povey family whose mother was killed as a result of domestic violence. In this film her children tell their story.
Land of my Father
Selma Chalabli was born in Britain to an Iraqi father and an English mother. Unable to visit her Dad's homeland in the current climate, and frustrated by the British media's portrayal of Iraq, she sets out on a journey to visit her relatives and capture their views. Her journey takes her to London, Birmingham, Winchester and Vienna. The result is an intimate insight into the thoughts and feelings of a family caught up in the local global politics of the time.
Produced and directed by Selma Chalabi, with the support of Valley and Vale Community Arts and the Commedia Millennium Awards administered by the Commedia Media Association
Like a Child
'Like a Child?' is a 5-minute drama about teenage pregnancy. In this film 15 yr old Nikki finds out that she is pregnant. Whilst she experiences strong emotions, her mother, friends and boyfriend react differently to the news. This film is a useful tool to initiate discussion about teenage pregnancy. Facilitated by Deri Steele Morgan, Delyth Harries, Amy Peckham and Katja Stiller from Valley and Vale Community Arts, and supported by a First Light Film Award.
Missing Mauro
Mauro and his family were deported in January 2005. His friends and fellow pupils from Willows High School in Cardiff were shocked and worried about him and his family.
Using film and rap, this short film made with his friends expresses how much they are missing Mauro. Facilitated by Katja Stiller. Funded by a First Light Award and supported by The Arts Council of Wales.
Our World | Our World Launch | Our World Feedback
This film was made by young asylum seekers living in Cardiff and working with our Film Development Worker Katja Stiller and our Drama Development Worker Ali Franks. This project aimed to encourage dialogue, promote cultural diversity and offer a creative outlet for the young people. Supported by the British Council, Wales, and the Welsh Assembly Government we have also created a resource pack to accompany this film.
Same Site Different Day / Our Clydach
Our Clydach is a documentary about the lives of three teenagers, Joanne, Claire and Carla who live in Clydach Vale, South Wales. The girls tell us how life is in Clydach, they explore how they would like it to be, and what they would like for the future.
As part of this project - Claire, Carla and Joanne made a short drama called 'Same Site Different Day' which explores the issue of crime in Clydach and their creative solutions to it.
Visual Arts
Sandfields Mural Project
This summer graffiti murals project took place in 2004 at the library in Sandfields estate near Port Talbot. Luckily the sun shone enough for the paint to dry and so the murals were completed by September, as well as the recording of an original hip hop track made by local young people as part of the workshop and the filming of a video diary of the project. We worked in partnership for the first time on this summer project with Neath Port Talbot Council and the project was funded by The New Opportunities Fund.
Peace, Love & Unity
This is a video record of a murals project which took place at the Wallach Clifford Hostel in Cardiff in 2004. Young people at the hostel worked with Tim Smith, Luke Jacobs and Sobia Iqbal from the Princes Trust Cymru to design and paint a mural in the grounds. The theme of Peace, Love and Unity in the Community expressed their feelings about their lives and hopes for the future. Members of this group also made Think Safe, Act Safe, Be Safe which you can see here. This project was funded by the Princes Trust Cymru.
