House of America

Last updated

House of America
House of America.jpg
Directed by Marc Evans
Written by Ed Thomas
Produced bySheryl Crown
Hans de Weers
David Green
Gina Carter
Starring Siân Phillips
Matthew Rhys
Steven Mackintosh
Lisa Palfrey
CinematographyPierre Aim
Edited byMichiel Reichwein
Music by John Cale [1]
Distributed by First Independent Films
Release date
  • 10 October 1997 (1997-10-10)(UK)
Running time
95 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

House of America is a 1997 Welsh film directed by Marc Evans. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of brothers Boyo and Sid, their sister Gwenny and their controlling mother. The film tackles issues such as Welsh identity, its need for indigenous heroes and the nation's perceived inferiority complex. [2]

Contents

The film was the theatrical debut for director Marc Evans, and the film won him the 'Best Directorial Debut' award at the Stockholm International Film Festival. The film also took four awards at the 1998 BAFTA Cymru awards.

It is a part of the cultural era known as Cool Cymru along with other similar independent films of the time.

Cast

Notes

  1. Werksman, Hans Timeline: 1997 Fear is a man's best friend
  2. Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines; Lynch, Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 377. ISBN   978-0-7083-1953-6.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Evans</span> Welsh film director

Marc Evans is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films House of America, Resurrection Man and My Little Eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Ifans</span> Welsh actor (born 1967)

Rhys Owain Evans, better known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his roles in Notting Hill (1999), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), and Enduring Love (2004) as well as his portrayals of Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Grigori Rasputin in The King's Man (2021). Other roles include Hector DeJean in the Epix thriller series Berlin Station, Mycroft Holmes in the CBS series Elementary, and Ser Otto Hightower in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euros Lyn</span> Welsh film and television director (born 1971)

Euros Lyn is a Welsh film and television director, best known for his work in Doctor Who, Sherlock, Black Mirror, Daredevil, His Dark Materials and Heartstopper.

Kevin Edward Allen is a British actor, director, producer and writer. Allen came to prominence with the 1991 BBC film On the March with Bobby's Army, and for writing and directing his debut feature film, Twin Town, in 1997. He directed and co-wrote the movie adaptation of Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood", submitted for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Oscars ceremony but not nominated, the Hollywood feature films, The Big Tease and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, and the first series of ITV's Benidorm, along with numerous other films and documentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Wales</span> Filmmaking in Wales or by Welsh

The cinema of Wales comprises the art of film and creative movies made in Wales or by Welsh filmmakers either locally or abroad. Welsh cinema began in the late-19th century, led by Welsh-based director William Haggar. Wales continued to produce film of varying quality throughout the 20th century, in both the Welsh and English languages, though indigenous production was curtailed through a lack of infrastructure and finance, which prevented the growth of the industry nationally. Despite this, Wales has been represented in all fields of the film making process, producing actors and directors of note.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llŷr Ifans</span> Welsh actor

Llŷr Evans, also known as Llŷr Ifans, is a Welsh actor.

Richard Harrington is a Welsh actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Richards (director)</span> Welsh film director

Julian Richards is a Welsh film director. He is associated with the Cool Cymru era of culture and arts in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerys Evans</span> Welsh politician

Elizabeth Gwendoline Nerys Evans is a Welsh politician. She was a member of the National Assembly for Wales representing Plaid Cymru in the Mid and West Wales region. She contested the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire seat for the 2011 National Assembly for Wales elections, finishing in third place, and thus lost her seat in the Assembly. She is currently a director of the public affairs agency Deryn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aneirin Hughes</span> Welsh actor and singer

Aneirin Hughes is a Welsh actor and singer known for playing Chief Superintendent Brian Prosser in the BBC4 Welsh police drama Hinterland. He won a Best Actor BAFTA Cymru for his appearance as Delme in Cameleon (1997), a Welsh language film.

Andy Goddard is a Welsh director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing his feature debut Set Fire to the Stars (2014) and directing and co-producing his second feature A Kind of Murder (2016). Goddard has also directed five episodes of the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey.

Jon Jones is a Welsh film and television writer and director working primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. He has directed numerous dramas for British and American television including the award-winning When I'm Sixty-Four, The Diary of Anne Frank, Blood Strangers, The Alan Clark Diaries, A Very Social Secretary, Northanger Abbey, Zen, Mr Selfridge and Going Postal.

<i>Hedd Wyn</i> (film) Welsh film

Hedd Wyn is a 1992 Welsh anti-war biopic, written by Alan Llwyd and directed by Paul Turner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television in Wales</span>

Television in Wales began in 1952. Initially, all programmes were in English with occasional Welsh language programmes. In 1982 Welsh language channel S4C was launched. The digital switchover happened in 2009-2010 and S4C became an exclusively Welsh language channel.

Sally El-Hosaini is a Welsh-Egyptian BAFTA nominated film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nia Roberts (actress)</span> Welsh actress

Nia Roberts is a Welsh actress. She is married to director Marc Evans.

John Hefin MBE was a Welsh television producer and director who served as head of drama at BBC Wales. He began working for the BBC in 1960, and his career at the corporation included devising the long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm, co-writing and directing the comedy film Grand Slam, and producing the 1981 biopic The Life and Times of David Lloyd George. He was later involved with the work of Film Cymru, the Film Commission Wales, and the media journal Cyfrwng. He also worked in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at Aberystwyth University. He died from cancer in November 2012.

Marc Phillips is a Welsh charity manager and former Plaid Cymru politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool Cymru</span> Culture, music and arts era

Cool Cymru was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.