Cardiff is Europe’s youngest capital city and also one of the fastest developing. It is a diverse and cosmopolitan city, catering for all tastes.
A bilingual city of English and Welsh, Cardiff offers everything from the excitement of a vibrant city life to the peace and tranquility of the nearby coast and countryside. There are luxury hotels, stylish shopping arcades and Europe’s largest waterfront development in Cardiff Bay, which has a host of visitor attractions and plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars offering cuisine from around the world.
A city with both heritage and ambition, Cardiff has a distinctive character, a good quality of life, and a growing national and international reputation. Home to many national institutions including the National Museum of Wales and the much-admired Millennium Stadium.
There are numerous landmark buildings from the ornate Civic Centre to the historic castle which dominates the city centre. Newer buildings such as the Millennium Centre have certainly made an impact over the last year, and it has now been joined by the equally striking National Assembly Debating Chamber which opens shortly. Cardiff is an extremely accessible city, benefiting from excellent road and rail links and also has its own international airport.
The Wales Screen Commission - South East Office now has over 270 freelance crew registered on the database as well as over 150 facility companies working in film, television and new media. Cardiff has a comprehensive and thriving production industry. Both the BBC and ITV have large centres in Cardiff, as does the Welsh public service broadcaster S4C. Cardiff also houses Barcud Derwen, the largest post production facility outside of London.
Productions Recently Shot in Cardiff
• Dr Who (Series 2) The hugely successful sci-fi series returned to Cardiff and the surrounding areas with David Tennant taking over from Christopher Eccleston in the starring role.
• Caerdydd A new series charting the lives of a new generation of young Welsh speakers, city slickers and migrants from the old country, finding their feet and making up the rules in 21st century Cardiff.
• Royal Variety Performance In November 2005 the performance moved from its usual home on the London stage to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Stars such as Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Sir Cliff Richard and popular boy band McFly mixed with home-grown talent including Dame Shirley Bassey, Bryn Terfel and Katherine Jenkins.
Production breakdown
Figures from the Wales Screen Commission on productions filmed in and around Cardiff during 2005:
TV documentary 16%
Short films 15%
TV drama series 10%
TV light entertainment 15%
Feature films 5%
TV Children’s 7%
Commercials 10%
Promos 8%
Corporate & Events 6%
What does the future hold?
July 20th 2005 saw work commence on the long awaited £330m Dragon International Studios or Valleywood as it has become known. Lord Attenborough, Chairman of Dragon International Studios was present to see construction begin on the 1,700 job scheme which will be built on a former open cast mine site at Llanilid, Rhondda Cynon Taff.
A delighted Lord Attenborough commented “I personally started to talk about this with my colleague Stuart Villard five years ago. I was at Stamford Bridge watching Chelsea play football when this mad Welshman (Mr Villard) came up and said would you like to build a studio in South Wales” He explained that the first wave of studios; the Dragon Plus section would be ready by April 2006 with a view to starting work on the main studio complex before December 2006.
“This would mean that we are able to offer a whole range of further facilities to house television productions, international feature films and multimedia businesses by the Spring of 2007.”
“The Wales Screen Commission is able to provide full backing to any production that films in the South East of Wales. Staff are always on hand to assist with location finding, sourcing crew or facilities and general support throughout the shoot. The South East region is lucky in that there is a vast amount of diverse locations in a fairly small area. From the industrial dockside settings to the city’s green open spaces; the tidy terraces of the valleys to state of the art luxury apartments in the waterfront developments; and what’s more the people are so friendly and welcoming.” Penny Skuse, Information Manager (South East Office)
Out And About In Cardiff.
Bars and restaurants
City Canteen & Bar
1-2 Mount Stuart Square
Cardiff CF10 5EE
Tel 029 2033 1020
“The hub of activity for the Bay’s media and high-flying socialites, although certainly not an exclusive venue. Comfy leather sofas and a huge chandelier suspended over an enormous antiquated dining table give the bar an appeal that’s hard to put into words.” Owen Williams, Fflic
Le Gallois Y Cymro’
6-10 Romilly Crescent
Canton, Cardiff CF11 9NR
Tel 029 2034 1264
Web www.legallois.co.uk
“The restaurant is a happy fusion of French and Welsh, and the place where you are likely to see a good mixture of local business people together with journalists from both print and broadcast media. This is certainly a restaurant to impress, but also one in which to relax and feel at home.” Colin Stevens, Deputy Chief Executive, Quadrant Media & Communications Ltd
The Cameo Club
3 Pontcanna Road
Cardiff, CF11 9HQ
Tel 029 2022 0466
“The Cameo Club is always brimming with actors/ directors/singers. They have a wonderful and cheap lunch menu and the staff are welcoming and extremely friendly. Once you find the Cameo you will inevitably never want to go elsewhere!” Sioned James, Cinel Gabran Management
Theres also...
Cafe Floyd
23 High Street
Cardiff CF10 1PT
Tel 029 2022 2181
Metropolis
60 Charles Street
Cardiff CF10 2GG
Tel 029 2034 4300
Cardiff is Europe’s youngest capital city and also one of the fastest developing. It is a diverse and cosmopolitan city, catering for all tastes.
Production breakdown
“The Wales Screen Commission is able to provide full backing to any production that films in the South East of Wales. Staff are always on hand to assist with location finding, sourcing crew or facilities and general support throughout the shoot. The South East region is lucky in that there is a vast amount of diverse locations in a fairly small area. From the industrial dockside settings to the city’s green open spaces; the tidy terraces of the valleys to state of the art luxury apartments in the waterfront developments; and what’s more the people are so friendly and welcoming.”