The Dancing Floor

I was up at the Castle last night for an evening of Welsh magic!
Lyn Webster Wilde has just launched a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo, to raise £40,000 to start to make a feature film called The Dancing Floor. It's soaked through with references to Welsh mythology, as half-Welsh, half-Indian Sita returns from London to her uncle's house in Wales to unravel a mystery.
Fifteen minutes of the film have already been shot - we saw the short film last night, and it was just beautiful, with a drone camera flying over Brechfa Pool and swooping above the actors, including the little girl playing Young Sita who was there at the Castle with her parents and brothers. A star in the making!
Also there were Gill Stevens and Dylan Fowler, who provided the music for the film, and who played on crwth (a medieval Welsh instrument something like a fiddle), pipes and guitar. I've never seen a crwth played live before - Gill Stevens used a bow and plucked the strings, showing what a versatile instrument it is. They also accompanied the storyteller, Wayland Boulanger (I think that's the right spelling), who told the story of Llew Llaw Gyffes from the Mabinogion - or a much shortened version of it, as the full version includes many stories, including Blodeuwedd the Woman of Flowers, and how Llew got his name and his weapons from his unwilling mother Arianrhod.
A special treat was a short talk by the great-great-grand-daughter of Lady Charlotte Guest, who translated the Mabinogion from medieval Welsh into such beautiful English that even Tennyson was impressed! She also ran the biggest iron works in the world, in South Wales.
I discovered, over wine and nibbles, that my next-door neighbour was the producer of the short film, though I don't think she will be doing that job for the full length feature film!
There are opportunities for local people to take part in the film as extras and behind the scenes, and perks for supporters of the crowd funding include copies of Lyn's book Beyond the Enchanter and CDs of the music - and spending a day on set for people who give more substantial sums.
For more information, visit http://igg.me/at/Dancingfloor and follow the film's progress at Lyn's blog https://lynwebsterwilde.wordpress.com