AN HISTORIC documentary film believed to be the first ever made in Welsh can finally be seen again after modern-day actors re-created scenes from a missing eight-minute reel.
Y Chwarelwr (The Quarryman) was made in 1935 by Ifan ab Owen Edwards, founder of the Urdd Gobaith Cymru youth movement, and schoolmaster/playwright John Ellis Williams.
The 37-minute film depicts the lives of ordinary quarrymen in Blaenau Ffestiniog, but the final reel was lost years ago.
Producer Ifor ap Glyn, with the support of the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, which was restoring it, launched a nationwide appeal for the missing eight-minute reel.
The appeal failed, but he was spurred on to re-create the missing scenes himself so that modern audiences could enjoy the completed film which, in its day, was considered a classic.
Its original soundtrack had survived, which enabled Ifor to recreate the missing scenes, but as it was of such poor quality he decided to record a new one.
Anglesey musician Pwyll ap Sion was also invited to compose a new score for the documentary.
Ifor, of Caernarfon-based TV production company Cwmni Da, which has produced programmes for S4C, said: “It was a difficult decision. I had always been fascinated with the film and had started working on a series of documentaries as a tribute to the original film makers and their work.
“I wanted to stay true to their vision but I also had to think about the needs of a modern audience.”
As in the original production, amateur actors were used, with the new scenes shot on location in Blaenau Ffestiniog and the National Slate Museum in Llanberis.
The restoration work was carried out by John Reed, conservation officer for the National Screen and Sound Archive, who worked on the project over a period of a year.
He explained: “It was like a giant jigsaw. We brought together sections of film from different collections, the most recent being two reels which were discovered at St Fagans National History Museum this year.”
Ifor is full of respect for the original work.
He said: “There was some disquiet in Wales in the 1930s about the influence of American culture with such films as Tarzan the Ape Man and Frankenstein.
“Ifan ab Owen Edwards and John Ellis Williams decided to do something about it. They had a lot of energy and were venturing into alien territory for them and had to master a new craft very quickly. I admire them for that.”
A series of documentary programmes will be broadcast on S4C early next month following the restoration process and the filming of the new scenes. A screening of the finished production will also be shown.
Y Chwarelwr - Y Ril Goll (the lost reel) will be shown Monday to Wednesday December 4 to 6 at 9pm, with English subtitles available.
Y Chwarelwr - Y Ffilm (the film) is on Sunday, December 10 at 9pm, also with English subtitles available.
The equipment used to make Y Chwarelwr in 1935 was a #250 Bell and Howell camera, #100 worth of film, two projectors and a generator.
The total cost of making the film was #2,900.