On the 2nd of February 2023, the scene was set at Theatr Clwyd with a lit pathway leading to the venue, a fabulous selection of canapes, wines, crisp clean tablecloths in the seating area; just the place for an award ceremony.
Our fantastic host for the evening was the chair of Creative North, renowned actor, and presenter extraordinaire, Iestyn Garlick. Iestyn steered the evening perfectly with his wit and charm, helped by members of the steering group. Iestyn reported back on the event to us, by saying
“It was a great pleasure to lead the Creative North Awards Event at Theatr Clwyd. We were also grateful for the support of Creative Wales in the person of Gerwyn Evans, Deputy Director of Creative Wales. Christina McAuley, one of the BBC Wales Commissioners had sent a video message announcing the winner of the “Our Lives” Commission to Cwmni Da from Caernarfon.”
There was not only a fantastic guest list but also a pleasure to welcome a fantastic audience including Nerys Evans of Bafta Cymru, Pontio, Galeri Caernarfon, Screen Skills and many more. The room was full to the brim with a warm and friendly environment.
Liam Evans-Ford, Theatr Clwyd Executive Director kicked the evening off with an overview of the ‘Live Events’ sector followed by Quantum soup’s Chris Payne who have the audience a snippet into the digital sector. Both sectors are going from strength to strength in north Wales, and it was brilliant to hear just a snippet of the goings-on.
Christina Macaulay, Commissioning Editor at BBC Wales visited North Wales in 2022 to discuss the ‘Our Lives’ commission. Christina was unable to be at the event but did send a specially recorded video announcing the lucky winner, a huge congratulations to Cwmni Da for their successful entry.
Many thanks to the Creative Wales team in supporting the event. Gerwyn Evans, Deputy Direct and Paul Osbaldeston, Development Lead – Digital and Screen shared some insightful information, facts and figures about the invaluable support North Wales has and will continue to receive from Creative Wales.
However, the most important part of the evening was of course the award ceremony itself. The first ever awards to give a platform to the north, celebrating Live Events, Digital and TV/Film sub-sectors including established companies, freelancers, new-entrants, and skills.
Congratulations to all the nominees! It was such a difficult decision to choose the shortlist as the standard in North Wales is so exceptionally high! The shortlists in each of the five categories including-Film and TV, Digital, Live Events, New entrants and Supporting Skills.
Each of these have an important part to play in developing the Creative-Digital sector across the region to make the network a powerhouse of innovative specialists.
Congratulations to the BBC and the Welsh National Orchestra who won the Live Events award. A wonderful celebration of music and sport to wish the Welsh football team all the best in the world cup. Cread Cyf, who’s Llinell Las out-numbered EastEnders in Viewing figures, won in the Film and TV category. Rondo Media for their contribution to developing skills in the sector, On-set Facilities for winning the digital award and Matt Evans from Bangor University as a New Entrant, a huge congratulations to all on winning the prestigious awards.
Stephen Edwards of CREAD Cyf-
“ How lovely to receive this award, to be recognized for my hard work over the last few years creating one of S4C’s popular documentaries. Show the young talent in the field, work hard and go for it”
Looking forward, this event was the first of many Celebrations of the Creative-Digital sector in North Wales and the first step to putting the Creative North Network on the map.
Hannah, The VAE…” A great event, celebrating and connecting the creative talent in North Wales. Looking forward to next years!”
On behalf of the Steering Group, many thanks to all who supported the event including the fantastic audience, the backstage team at Theatr Clwyd and of course, our wonderful host Iestyn Garlick.
