“ Through making my own short films I began to understand why film is such a magical medium .”
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FROM WEST WALES TO LA AND BACK AGAIN
Film-maker Brynach Day tells Laura Boyd about his love of film and his latest Pembrokeshire-set film , Role Play .
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Ten years ago film writer , director and BAFTA ‘ Brit To Watch ’ Brynach Day made his debut narrative film in his home county of Pembrokeshire . Since then he has travelled around the world filming in many different countries and cultures , a choice which has unquestionably broadened his filmmaking scope . This year he returns to his roots with his new west Wales-set film , Role Play . “ Telling stories abroad is a challenge , as it requires tapping into cultures I am relatively unfamiliar with ,” he says . “ With this story I wanted to return home to tell a tale that is both personally and culturally specific .” Culturally specific this film certainly is : set in an alternative community around Pembrokeshire , its surroundings seem almost identical to the community Brynach has spoken of before from his own childhood . “ The story was inspired by my memories of the people and places in Pembrokeshire ,” he explains . “ However , at a certain point these memories and impressions moulded into a story that began to exist independently of me ”. In writing this film , Brynach made a conscious decision to tackle some difficult themes concerning childhood and growing up . In explaining the plot he says : “ in a general sense Role Play is a loss of innocence tale , however more specifically the film is about two children ’ s changing awareness of the adult world .” The film challenges perceptions of childhood neglect and abuse , themes that need a skilled hand in undertaking in both a sensitive and brave manner .
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Brynach feels that the themes were worth tackling as he claims that they reach further than the boundaries of the piece itself . “ I feel it is a topic that is important and long lasting ,” he explains . “ The seemingly trivial things that children sometimes do to each other when exploring
“ Through making my own short films I began to understand why film is such a magical medium .”
adult roles can have a lasting impact . I am interested in exploring the environment in which abuse takes place and hopefully challenging people to take ownership of their role in the cycle .” Telling these stories on screen has been Brynach ’ s aim since discovering independent film at a young age through the Guardian . “ At that point I had no reference for what making films entailed ,” he states . “ Through being exposed to great film-makers and through making my own short films I began to understand why film is such a magical medium .” He pursued his passion in the conventional way through studying film in his A levels before taking it on at university and beginning his career working as a runner in TV production . His career then took a slightly more leftfield turn as he chose to study for his Masters in Fine Arts In Directing at the University Of California , Los Angeles . This is a choice he ’ s never regretted as he “ felt and still feels that studying at UCLA was the best route into independent film-making .” It is a route that has proven to be very successful , and now it seems that the UK will be seeing a lot more of Brynach in the upcoming year , for as well as Role Play he has two new screenplays in the pipeline . “ One is a story about three surfers in west Wales ,” he reveals . “ The other is a psychological drama about the lies families tell each other to survive .” As for Role Play , it is now about half a year away from its first release . “ I will be sending the film out to A-list festivals around the world . Hopefully audiences and film programmers will respond to it .” For the rest of us the film ’ s general release has not been announced just yet , but you can find the film at its Facebook page , ( Role Play Film ), to find out more and keep up to date with their progress around the festival circuit .
Info : www . brynachday . co . uk