Kin showrunner Peter McKenna and Director General of RTÉ Kevin Bakhurst have been announced among the speakers at Celtic Media Festival, taking place from June 4th to 6th.
This year’s Celtic Media Festival: The International Summit of Sound and Screen, is less than a month away. The festival takes place in Cardiff, and the full programme of events has been announced.
Day One’s highlights include the opening ceremony of Celtic Media Festival 2024, where the first Torc Awards for Excellence of the event will be given out which will be followed by a Welcome to Wales in the Senedd showcasing the Cardiff Bay.
Delegates will also have the chance to Join the BBC's guides for a behind-the-scenes tour of BBC Central Square, BBC Cymru Wales’s new broadcast hub in the centre of Cardiff.
Day Two will have a panel chaired by Rhuanedd Richards (Director of BBC Cymru Wales): Cops and Robbers – Making a Killing in Crime Drama. This will feature panellists Peter McKenna and David Mcloughlin, writer and producer of the hit Irish Crime Drama Kin. The panel explores writing crime drama and asking what it takes to stand out in a market that can be oversaturated with similar shows.
Kicking off the panel discussions of the Day Two is It’s The Way We Tell ‘Em – The Celtic Sense of Humour. The panel is chaired by Interim CEO of S4C, Sioned Wiliam and featuring panellists Simon Nicholls, Leila Navabi, Ian Brown, Marie Macdonald and Lana Pheutan. When it comes to comedy, the Celtic nations and regions have enjoyed National and International success over the years. This panel asks ‘Is it luck, or do we have a unique comic voice? Are people laughing with us, or at us?’
Following this is Is it Time to Kill True Crime? with Meic Parry, Vicky Lee, and Sorcha Nic Eochagáin. The true crime genre spans from podcasts to video streaming hits. Audiences, particularly women, can’t get enough. Celtic Media Festival 2024 brings together a panel of experts to explore the genre, what makes it work, what the pitfalls are and what the future of the genre looks like.
Other panels and discussions include Livelihoods and language: Making your living, where you’re living sponsored by the British Irish Council, Is yours a Mentally Healthy Production?, Where are the Kids? and The Future is Female – The Rise of Women’s Sports Coverage sponsored by Coimisiún na Meán.
Day Three sees Broadcaster Kaye Adams interview Kevin Bakhurst, the Director-General of RTÉ, as he comes to the close of a challenging first year at the helm of Ireland's national broadcaster. Bakhurst has previously held a range of senior editorial positions at the BBC, including Controller, BBC News Channel and Deputy Head, BBC Newsroom from 2005.
BBC radio presenter, Huw Stephens will be In Conversation with Dafydd Iwan, a singer-songwriter whose music is now synonymous with Welsh football and the Red Wall. This free to the public event will see Huw take Dafydd on a journey through music, politics and football.
Further highlights on Day Three include AI in Media Production: For better or worse, Making History - Bringing the Past to Life with Archive (In Partnership with the Wales Broadcast Archive) and A Greener Future.
Presenting at this year’s Award ceremonies for the Torc Awards for Excellence are presenters Catrin Heledd and Ifan Jones Evans (winner of Celtic Media Festival 2023, Presenter of the Year Torc Award).
Catriona Logan, Festival Director, said: “With tickets for this year’s packed programme now fully sold out, we are absolutely delighted to be able to offer the wider public the opportunity to attend the event with Dafydd Iwan for free. It will be a fantastic chance to hear about his vital work campaigning for the Welsh language, as well as his long and varied career.”
