A FEATUREfilm shot on location in North Wales and made almost entirely by an army of volunteers has been screened for the first time in the UK’s capital.

British Winters – a tale of one man’s struggle with apathy and despondency – is the first feature film for Llanfairfechan-based writer Andrew Turner and producers Old Colwyn-based charity TAPE Community Music and Film.

The film was shown for the the first time in London with two screenings at the British Film Industry and the Rio Cinema in Dalston.

The TAPE team travelled to the capital to present the film to the BFI, along with representatives from arts and humanities charity, Arts Emergency, and aspiring filmmakers from the capital.

TAPE CEO, Steve Swindon said: ‘We took the film to the BFI with the intention of showing what is possible in community filmmaking and how a meaningful alternative into creative filmmaking for everyone can be successfully achieved. The film went down a storm and we are delighted with the reactions we’ve had from audiences whenever it has been shown. We look forward to announcing more screenings soon before the film goes online and is made available on DVD/BluRay.”

Service manager at Arts Emergency, Carys Nelkon said, “British Winters is beautiful, touching and a triumph of a film, showing that amazing things happen when communities come together.”

Jen Smith , Head of Diversity at the BFI said TAPE was blazing a trail in community filmmaking.

She added: We want everybody across all of our nations and regions to engage with film. When people come together and work as a community, you get a richness of storytelling and skills that the mainstream industry just isn’t harnessing at the moment. We’d like that to change. TAPE is living inclusion through the work that they are doing and it mirrors so much of our ambition set out in our 2022 strategy”

British Winters is TAPE’s first feature, the production of which included over 115 people from across North Wales. It was shot in a number of locations along the North Wales coast including Old Colwyn, Bangor, Rhyl, and Meliden.

The charity, based in Old Colwyn, is now working with a group of people on its second feature, which has the working title of ‘Below the Waves’.