The personalities and passion behind a massive protest to halt the proliferation of wind turbines in mid Wales are revealed in an entertaining and thought-provoking new S4C series.
The two-part observational documentary entitled Gwynt Ynni Hwyliau, which translates as Wind In Their Sails in English will air on February 14 and 21 at 9pm.
It captures the characters and camaraderie behind a campaign to prevent up to 800 wind turbines being built in Montgomeryshire.
Protestors from all walks of life have joined forces to fight the plans which include a new substation proposed for Cefn Coch, near Llanfair Caereinion, or Abermiwl, near Newtown, with pylons being built through the Meifod Valley which will be linked to some of the proposed turbines.
But for Nia Ceidiog, producer and director of the series, her filming was not about exploring this highly controversial and inflammatory issue but more about understanding what it is that drives people to stand up and shout.
Wrexham-born Nia, Managing Director of television production company Ceidiog and a well known broadcaster, said: “I just felt it was so interesting to watch and see all these very different people from very different backgrounds who are brought together by this one issue.
“What is it that makes people raise their voice? What is it that says to you at a certain point that you are not prepared to tolerate this anymore and decide to do something about it and then discover there are lots of other people feeling the same way.
“We didn’t want to make a story about the issue and it is not about coming down on one side or the other but I think it is important to tell this story of people protesting.
Nia, now based in Cardiff, was first introduced to the people behind the protest by Myfanwy Alexander, well known for her work with BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio 4, who is one of the individuals featured in the series.
“We met up one day and she told me all about the interesting people and the diversity, skills and backgrounds among the group.
“There are a lot of separate groups involved in fighting the turbine plans but my films just focus on a group of individuals in a smallish area from Meifod to Llangadfan.
Viewers should also look out for travel writer Carolle Doyle, young farmer and Welsh cob breeder David Oliver, landscape architect Huw Morgan and barrister Neville Thomas QC.
There is also music provided by retired dairy farmer John Hughes who after leaving agriculture has taken up his first love – country music – and now performs regularly in the local area.
Nia said: “He has written a whole album of protest songs and in programme two we film him recording his Christmas single which Myfanwy contributed the Welsh lyrics for. It is light hearted and very entertaining to watch.”
The series also documents the varied and often novel ways which the group come up with to raise money for and promote their cause.
Nia said: “The group produced a comprehensive report to back up what they were saying and they decided they should present it to the Assembly Members in Cardiff Bay themselves. But they wanted to find a novel way to do this and they came up with the idea of printing some very large maps of the area and putting them on to banners which then went on the sides of their Land Rovers and trailers before they travelled in convoy to Cardiff to physically deliver the report.
“It was a wonderfully visual event for us to film but also represented the hard work and effort people were prepared to put in, in order to make sure their voice is heard.”
For Nia, who is also an experienced children’s television producer and wrote the original Fireman Sam, it is very important that television is not only informative but also entertaining.
That was the case in her ground-breaking documentary series for pre-school children, Y Diwrnod Mawr (Big Day) which was nominated for five major awards.
The series was last year shortlisted by the international Rose D’or Awards, the Children’s UK BAFTAs, the Royal Television Society, Bafta Wales and the Celtic Media Festival awards.
Like Y Diwrnod Mawr, Nia believes it is the characters in Gwynt Ynni Hwyliau who who really bring the series alive.
She said: “I had great fun filming it and it has been a fantastic project to work on. I think the series is highly entertaining and engaging and that is what makes good television. Yes we try to make films which are enlightening and informative but it’s not television unless it is also entertaining.”
