WIDF 2016 hosted over 600 visitors and offered a variety of industry, training and entertainment events open to ticket holders. The events were divided between Blackwood Miners' Institute (BMI) and the Maxime Cinema on the High Street.

The festival was visited by 17 delegates from all over the UK, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Poland as well as guests from India, China, Russia and Germany.

The festival's relatively small scale allowed visitors and industry to connect and develop professional relationships in a way that would not have been possible in a much larger festival.

Pathways

Day 1 of the festival was dedicated to raising awareness of opportunities in the Creative Industries.

In partnership with training providers and universities, Blackwood Miners' Institute was the setting for a day of workshops, masterclasses and one-to-ones aimed at inspiring young people to explore pathways into education, training and work in the Creative Industries.

Trainers and employers at Pathways included:

Mint Motion - Graphics and CGI
Gorilla - Post Production
Aerial Craft - Drone helicopter
Calan Films - Documentaries and Promos
Serious Datum & Atticus Digital
Awen Media
Royal Television Society
Cult Cymru/BAFTA
Ffilm Cymru Wales
Iris Prize/Ffresh
Pensord Printers
It’s My Shout
Eleanor Beer
South Wales Police - Media Dept
Gwent Police - School Beat

NETWORKING & CO-PRODUCTION

On day 2 of the festival, over 100 filmmakers and broadcasters attended the Commissioners' Brunch and co-production platform.

Sponsored by Creative Europe, the co-production panel included 2 Oscar nominees (Andre Singer, Kimberley Warner). Heads of factual at BBC network, Channel 4, S4C and VICE online also attended.

Andre Singer and Kimberley Warner

FACTUAL COMMISSIONERS BRUNCH

The BAFTA Cymru Commissioners series, in partnership with Creative Europe Wales offered the chance to hear from leading commissioners in the UK:

Llion Iwan, S4C
Andrew O’Connell, ITV
Rhys James, VICE
Jamie Balment, BBC
Anna Miralis, Channel 4

The event featured a panel discussion and insights into commissioning priorities, followed by 1-2-1 sessions with the panelists.

MASTERCLASSES

Jacek Petrycki

WIDF 2016 offered visitors several inspirational, in-depth masterclasses delivered by award-winning practitioners. These included an editing masterclass with Oscar nominated editor, Ariadna Fatso-Vila, a Cinematography session with renowned veteran, Jacek Petrycki, a session on Crowd Funding with filmmaker Gordon Main and Pitching with Tom Ware from Yeti Media.

Cinema Screenings

All films selected for the Creative Feature and Short Doc categories were screened at the Maxime Cinema and judged by a jury during the festival. Many of the films were followed by Q&A sessions with the directors, producers and cinematographers.

GALA SCREENINGS

This year's gala screenings included award-winning films, 'MAVIS!' and 'I Believe in Miracles'. Following the awards ceremony on the final night of the festival, the winning films in the Feature and Short categories were screened.