Revealing the dark secrets of the National Library

Film thriller to receive its world premiere at Edinburgh festival

Recognised as one of Wales’s most iconic landmarks the National Library in Aberystwyth is to receive even greater prominence thanks to its newest role as that of film star. The Library Suicides is based on Fflur Dafydd’s bestselling novel Y Llyfrgell and marks award winning director Euros Lyn’s feature length debut.

Described as an offbeat thriller, and set in the National Library of Wales, the film explores the secrets and lies at the heart of storytelling, and asks who has the right to tell the story. It will receive its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival this week (17, 18 June) with the film already nominated for Best British Feature while one of its stars, Catrin Stewart has been nominated for Best Performance in a British Feature. The film will receive its Welsh premiere at a special event during this year’s National Eisteddfod at Abergavenny in August.

Bafta Cymru award winner director Euros Lyn whose previous credits include Doctor Who and Broadchurch, admits the nerves are starting to seep in as the premiere approaches,

“For me working on this film was like being a child in a sweet shop – it brought so many of my loves together. I’m a huge fan of this genre, and it was great that I could make my first feature film in Welsh. To be allowed then to film in the wonderfully atmospheric National Library of Wales was the icing on the cake – it’s a fantastic location. I’m just hoping now that the audiences will enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.”

When famous author Elena Wdig (Sharon Morgan) commits suicide, her twin daughters, librarians Nan and Ana, (both played by Catrin Stewart) are lost without her. Elena’s final words suggest that her biographer, Eben (Ryland Teifi) murdered her. During one night shift, the twins set off on a murderous quest to avenge their mother’s death at the National Library, but are soon disrupted by night porter Dan, (Dyfan Dwyfor), who is unwillingly caught up in the saga.

The film is based on Fflur Dafydd’s novel, Y Llyfrgell, which won her the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize at the 2009 National Eisteddfod,

“Having first envisaged this idea as a film, the fact that we are now about to see these characters come to life on the big screen feels like a dream come true. Having the Welsh premiere at the National Eisteddfod, seven years on from when the novel gained such success, makes it even more special for me.”

After debuting at Edinburgh this week the film will be shown at the Abergavenny cinema on the evening of Monday, 1st August and tickets are on sale from Monday, 13 June through the National Eisteddfod box office. It will then be shown at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and the Chapter Centre, Cardiff from 5-11 August with other locations across Wales to be announced.

To coincide with the Aberystwyth screenings special tours of the National Library are scheduled so people can visit the set after watching the film as the Library’s Chief Executive Linda Tomos explains,

“This is the first time a feature film has been set at the Library but I doubt if it will be the last. We are aware that it will spark people’s interest in the Library so we will be organising special tours for people to visit the film location and have a personal behind the scenes look at the set. The architecture of the building naturally lends an aura of mystery to such a project and I know that I speak for all the staff when I say we are looking forward immensely to seeing the film.”

The Library Suicides is the third film from Ffilm Cymru Wales’ emerging talent scheme Cinematic. Cinematic was devised and developed in partnership with the BFI Film Fund, BBC Films, Creative Skillset, Edicis, Soda Pictures and S4C. The scheme supports emerging filmmaking talent from Wales, in creating contemporary, dynamic and distinctive features. The Library Suicides is the first of these to be filmed in the Welsh language. Soda Pictures have distribution in the UK and Ireland, and S4C will broadcast the film at a future date.

For further press information please contact
Deian Creunant on deian@fbagroup.co.uk or 01970 636419 / 07855 276740
Dylan Jenkins on 01970 636428 or dylan@fbagroup.co.uk
Kate Patten on 01970 636401 or katep@fbagroup.co.uk

To book tickets for the showing at the National Eisteddfod visit www.eisteddfod.org or call 0845 4090 800

Trailer for the film