Documentary in Wales - panel session

Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones

Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones is Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies and Professor at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David where she directs the work of Mercator specializing in minority/minoritized languages, language policy and planning, international cultural exchange and literary translation. She has been active in the field of Minority Language Media Research for three decades, primarily with the Mercator Network, leading research projects, organizing conferences, supervising and examining doctorates, publishing and presenting in a range of academic, professional and community contexts. She directed the work of the S4C Broadcasting Compliance Research and Monitoring Unit from 1998-2010. In 2017 she was appointed member of the Expert Group on Media for the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. She was elected Vice-President of the ELEN European Language Equality Network in 2019.

Dafydd Sills-Jones Dafydd Sills-Jones is Associate Professor at Te Kura Whakapāho, Te Wānanga Aronui of Tāmaki Makau Rau (School of Communication, Auckland University of Technology), in Aotearoa (New Zealand), since 2018. Dafydd teaches cross-platform media production as well with media, technology and social history. Previously he was Head of Postgraduate Studies and a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Aberystwyth University. Dafydd researches through traditional written methods, and 'research practice' modes in the document production zone. He’s a member of the editorial board of the journals Media History and the International Journal of Creative Media Research.

John Geraint John Geraint is one of Wales’s most experienced documentarians. Having joined the BBC Wales as its youngest ever radio producer in 1978, John produced and directed television documentaries about society, history and culture in Wales and the wider world throughout the 1980s. Amongst several acclaimed films for the Everyman series was A Place Like Hungerford, nominated by the Royal Television Society as Best Documentary of 1988. In the 1990s, John was Head of Factual Programmes, and then Head of Production at BBC Wales, responsible editorially for output in all genres. In 2001, John established Green Bay Media with Phil George. Green Bay became known for award-winning ‘blue-chip’ documentaries for BBC, ITV, S4C, Channel 4, National Geographic, France Télévisions and other international broadcasters. John remained Creative Director of the company until, in 2018, it was acquired by Wildflame Productions. He is now a Creative Partner at Wildflame. John was awarded a Ph D by the University of Glamorgan in 2012 for his submission Representing Wales: Experience on Screen 1985-2010; an MBA in Public Service Management by the University of Bradford (1997); and an MA in English by the University of Oxford (1979).

Nia Dryhurst Nia Dryhurst is a producer and director with over twenty years experience in the film and television industry. She has worked for leading broadcasters in Wales, Britain and beyond and has won numerous awards for her documentary productions. After completing a doctorate in 2016, she also lectures and researches in the field of creativity and research through practice.

Iwan England Iwan England was raised in Aberfan and has worked in television production for more than two decades. He has produced and directed observational and presenter-led documentaries as well as scripted comedy for broadcasters such as BBC One, BBC Three, S4C and BBC Cymru-Wales. In 2014 he established Cynyrchiadau Alpha Productions, a production company that he leads creatively, and he also occasionally works as a freelance director and series producer, and more recently as an executive producer. His documentaries have looked at the impacts of austerity (Living on the Never Never, 2014), anti- immigration politics (We'll Keep a Welcome...? 2015), and national identity in comedy (Funny Nation, 2019). His drama documentary Aberfan: The Fight for Justice won Best Single Documentary and Best Presenter at the 2017 BAFTA Cymru awards, and was nominated in two further categories and at the Celtic Media Festival. His recent executive producer credits inlcude Huw Stephens: Cofiwch Dryweryn (2019), Babis Covid, Babis Gobaith (2020) and Cyfrinach y Bedd Celtaidd (2021).