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INDUSTRY UK

Wales offers a Foot in the Door of Gareth Evans’ Apostle

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- 10 people to get the opportunity to experience a film set in Ffilm Cymru Wales’ new scheme

Wales offers a Foot in the Door of Gareth Evans’ Apostle
Gareth Evans (right) shooting The Raid 2

Welsh screen agency Ffilm Cymru Wales has launched a new scheme titled Foot in the Door wherein 10 people over the age of 18 that are not otherwise engaged in employment, education or training the opportunity to spend a week learning valuable new training and skills, and to experience a live film set while Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans shoots Apostle in April at South Wales locations.

Apostle is a period thriller that will follow a man who attempts to rescue his sister who has been kidnapped by a religious cult. Welsh production company Severn Screen, US production and worldwide sales company XYZ Films and Evans’ One More One Productions are producing, with XYZ handling international sales. The film stars Dan Stevens who shot to international prominence with television’s Downton Abbey and is the lead in television’s Legion that is currently on air.

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Ffilm Cymru Wales and creative industry consultancy Our Colab are working in partnership with XYZ and Severn, with the support of Charter Housing Association and Creative Skillset to provide a programme of training and production placements on the film. The selected participants will undergo a free five-day film training course led by industry experts, introducing them to the roles and responsibilities on set, and subsequently spend a week with the production. Successful eligible applicants can receive support with costs that may otherwise have proven to be a barrier for them, including support with travel and childcare.

Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Chief Executive Pauline Burt said, “We wanted to help build the capacity of the sector, which is experiencing real growth, in a way that enabled people from any background to be able to quite literally get a foot in the door and to be guided and supported in that process. We’re committed to making the film sector more accessible and inclusive – and that needs practical and scalable solutions, particularly when dealing with the challenges that new entrants can face in a largely freelance environment that depends on availability and connections – so childcare, transport and networking are built in.”

Evans was born and raised in Wales’ Cynon Valley. He made his feature debut with the thriller Footsteps (2006) and found favour with Indonesian martial arts film Merantau (2009). His mainstream breakthrough film was the action epic The Raid: Redemption (2011) and its sequel The Raid 2: Berandal (2014). The Raid 3 has been announced and Evans is also on board action drama Blister. Evans said, “I’m really pleased to be backing the Foot in the Door initiative, helping people from communities across South Wales break into the industry.”

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