Organisers of the Celtic Media Festival have today (Thursday 14th February) unveiled the shortlist for the prestigious Bronze Torc Awards for Excellence, which will be presented at this year’s Celtic Media Festival. Set to attract some the biggest names in the broadcasting and film world to Swansea over 24 – 26 April, the Celtic Media Festival celebrates the unique languages and cultures of the Celtic nations and regions on screen and in broadcasting, and the coveted Bronze Torc Awards honour the very best of film, television, radio and digital media.

Over 100 productions from over 60 production companies and broadcasters have been shortlisted across the 20 award categories, which include animation, current affairs, drama, entertainment, sport, factual and feature length drama, plus brand new categories Best App, Music Programme and Radio Sports. Organisers were inundated with over 425 submissions from across Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, the Isle of Man and Ireland, and a shortlist of some of the finest films, TV and radio productions and digital media to emerge from the Celtic nations and regions over the past year has been selected by an international jury.

Shortlisted entries include Sport Wales: A Tribute to Gary Speed, BBC Wales Sport’s moving tribute to the former player and Wales manager. BBC Northern Ireland’s documentary This World: Shame of the Catholic Church is nominated in the Current Affairs category for its investigation into child abuse claims.

Also shortlisted for an award is Steip le Tura – a documentary which tells the story of African dancer Cuthbert ‘Tura’ Arutura as he fulfils his ambition to learn one of Ireland’s most ancient and emotive forms of dancing; Seán-Nós. The production tells the fascinating story of Gaelic speaker Tura, a dancer from Zimbabwe who moved to Belfast in 1993 when he was 19 years old, and who now he teaches dance and has become a familiar face in Irish language circles after he started attending classes 5 years ago. Matchlight’s Russell Brand: From Addiction to Recovery is in the running for a Bronze Torc Award in the Factual Single category. The documentary offers an insight into the comedian’s battle to stay clean, and challenges how our society deals with addiction.

The festival will honour the important role of digital technology in the promotion of Celtic languages and cultures in 2013, with podcasts accepted as entries in the Radio category and the introduction of a Best App award for the first time ever this year. Shortlisted apps include Hiort (a bilingual mobile app which tells the rich tale of St Kilda and the story of human survival), Welsh language weather app Y Tywydd, Irish language app Cúlacaint and the app from one of Ireland’s most progressive and ambitious theatre companies Fíbín Teo.

The festival will also present a Gold Torc to the winner of the Spirit of the Festival Award – a film or television programme wholly or substantially in a Celtic language that encapsulates the spirit of Celtic Media Festival.

Earlier this month, festival organisers confirmed the very first details of the 2013 festival programme, with the announcement that News International’s Director of Communications (and former Communications Director for Boris Johnson) Guto Harri will speak about his career in media and shaping media at this year’s festival. Harri is the first name to be confirmed for the 34th edition of the annual event, and further details on the Celtic Media Festival 2013 will be unveiled shortly.

Domhnall Caimbeul, Chairman of the Celtic Media Festival, said: “We are thrilled to announce our shortlist for the prestigious Bronze Torc Awards. This shortlist demonstrates the exceptionally high calibre of broadcasting and digital media talent from within the Celtic nations and regions, and we were overwhelmed by the response we received to our call for entries.

“This year we introduced three new award categories which marked an incredibly exciting development for the festival. We’d like to thank every production company that submitted an entry and we’re very much looking forward to visiting Swansea this April to celebrate the very best in Celtic media.”

Delegate registration for Celtic Media Festival 2013 is now open. To register as a delegate and for further information on the history of the festival and award categories, please visit: www.celticmediafestival.co.uk

Source: Celtic Media Festival