ABERGAVENNY writer Owen Sheers has been nominated for a BAFTA for his work on Aberfan: The Green Hollow

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in Wales, BAFTA Cymru, nominees have been announced today (Friday) and honour excellence in broadcasting and production within film, games and television in Wales. The announcement was made live for the first time on Facebook by Elin Fflur.

The 26th ceremony will take place on October 8 at St David’s Hall, Cardiff and will be presented by Huw Stephens for the third year. The ceremony will feature special guest performances and celebrity award presenters representing the best of the UK’s creative and media industries.

This year a record 55 productions gain recognition with nominations across all production, performance, craft and game categories.

Aberfan: The Green Hollow leads with seven nominations across Television Drama, Director: Fiction (Pip Broughton), Actress (Eiry Thomas) and Actor (Michael Sheen, who won the award in 2013). The drama is also nominated for Writer (Owen Sheers), Photography and Lighting (Steve Lawes) and the Breakthrough Award for newcomer Jenna Robbins.

Returning series 35 Diwrnod and Parch complete the Television Drama category.

Thriller The Lighthouse receives five nominations, for Actor (2016 winner Mark Lewis Jones), Director (Chris Crow), Editing (John Gillanders), Photography and Lighting (Alex Metcalfe) and Special and Visual Effects, Titles and Graphic Identity.

Sherlock also receives five nominations this year:  Production Design (for previous winner Arwel Wyn Jones), Editing (Will Oswald), Special and Visual Effects, Titles and Graphic Identity and two nominations for Make Up (Claire Pritchard Jones)*.

The new, broader eligibility criteria for this year’s awards, which allow recognition for Welsh talent working on UK network productions, sees Kimberley Nixon receive a nomination for Actress for her role in Ordinary Lies. Euros Lyn and Catrin Meredydd also receive nominations for Director and Production Design respectively for their work on Damilola, Our Loved Boy.

In the factual categories, the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster dominates with The Aberfan Young Wives Club receiving nominations for Director: Factual (Marc Evans), Editing  (Joe Williams), Original Music (James Dean Bradfield) and Photography Factual (Baz Irvine). Aberfan – The Fight for Justice receives four nominations, for Single Documentary, Director: Factual (Iwan England), Photography Factual (Stephen Hart) and Presenter (Huw Edwards).

The remaining Actor nominations go to Jack Parry Jones (Moon Dogs) and Dyfan Dwyfor (Y Llyfrgell) and Actress to Carys Eleri (Parch) and Mali Jones (35 Diwrnod).

Nominations in the Feature/Television Film category are Ellen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Albi a Noa yn Achub yr Iwnifyrs.

The nominations in the Game category, which returns to the main ceremony this year, are The Bunker (Wales Interactive/Green Man Gaming), Coffin Dodgers (Wales Interactive) and Creature Battle Lab (Dojo Arcade).

Recipients of the Siân Phillips Award, sponsored by Pinewood Studios Group, and the BAFTA Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television, sponsored by Sony Technology, will be announced at a celebratory Nominees Party on September 28. Both Awards will be presented on October 8 at the ceremony.

The ceremony will be live streamed once again this year, with a special event being held by New York Welsh at the Sunken Hundred Welsh bar in Brooklyn attended by Matthew Rhys and others for those in New York to celebrate alongside nominees and winners. For the first time this year, BAFTA will be live-streaming from the red carpet to Facebook with the public able to hear from guests as they arrive.

Full list of British Academy Cymru Awards Nominees 2017

SIAN PHILLIPS AWARD (sponsored by Pinewood Studios Group)

Announced on 28 September

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO FILM AND TELEVISION (sponsored by Sony Technology)

Announced on 28 September

ACTOR (sponsored by AUDI)

DYFAN DWYFOR as Dan IN Y Llyfrgell/The Library Suicides

JACK PARRY JONES as Michael IN Moon Dogs

MARK LEWIS JONES as Thomas Griffiths IN The Lighthouse?MICHAEL SHEEN as Dave Evans IN Aberfan: The Green Hollow

ACTRESS (sponsored by Iceland)

CARYS ELERI as Myfanwy IN Parch

EIRY THOMAS as Anne (59) IN Aberfan: The Green Hollow?KIMBERLEY NIXON as Holly in Ordinary Lies

MALI JONES as Nia in 35 Diwrnod

BREAKTHROUGH (sponsored by Cardiff and Vale College)

JENNA ROBBINS for Aberfan: The Green Hollow

VIVIANE PEOC’H for Nain Stori Wir

SION JENKINS for Sion Jenkins

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME (sponsored by Cardiff BID)

DEIAN A LOLI

LLOND CEG

TEULU NI

COSTUME DESIGN (sponsored by Bluestone)

DAWN THOMAS-MONDO for Y Llyrfgell/The Library Suicides

RAY HOLMAN for A Midsummer Night’s Dream

SARAH ARTHUR for Lady Chatterley’s Lover

DIRECTOR: FACTUAL (sponsored by Capital Law)

ARWYN EVANS for Iestyn Garlick: Stori Mabwysiadu

IWAN ENGLAND for Aberfan – The Fight for Justice

JONNY OWEN for Don’t Take Me Home

MARC EVANS for The Aberfan Young Wives Club

DIRECTOR: FICTION (sponsored by Champagne Taittinger)

CHRIS CROW for The Lighthouse?EUROS LYN for Damilola, Our Loved Boy?EUROS LYN for Y Llyfrgell/The Library Suicides

PIP BROUGHTON for Aberfan: The Green Hollow

EDITING (sponsored by Gorilla)

CAROLINE LYNCH-BLOSSE for Beti and David: Lost for Words

JOE WILLIAMS for The Aberfan Young Wives Club

JOHN GILLANDERS for The Lighthouse

WILL OSWALD for Sherlock

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME (sponsored by Sugar Creative)

CANTATA MEMORIA

CITY OF THE UNEXPECTED

TAITH BRYN TERFEL – GWLAD Y GÂN

Y SALON

FACTUAL SERIES

#SWN10

ARFORDIR CYMRU: BAE CEREDIGION

COAST & COUNTRY

THE GREATEST GIFT

FEATURE/TELEVISION FILM (sponsored by Curzon)

ALBI A NOA YN ACHUB YR IWNIFYRS

ELLEN ?A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

?GAME (sponsored by Games Design at Glyndwr University)

THE BUNKER

COFFIN DODGERS

CREATURE BATTLE LAB

?LIVE BROADCAST

BBC YOUNG MUSICIAN 2016 GRAND FINAL

CATCHING THE ABUSERS: A CRIMEWATCH SPECIAL

FFEINAL BAND CYMRU 2016

MAKE UP AND HAIR (sponsored by Ken Picton)

CLAIRE PRITCHARD-JONES for Lady Chatterley’s Lover

CLAIRE PRITCHARD-JONES for Sherlock (The Abominable Bride)

CLAIRE PRITCHARD-JONES for Sherlock (The Lying Detective)

NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS (sponsored by Working Word)

CYSGOD CHERNOBYL/THE SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL (Y BYD AR BEDWAR)

LIVING WITH DEMENTIA – CHRIS’S STORY

MICHAEL SHEEN: THE FIGHT FOR MY STEEL TOWN

WALES AT SIX (21/10/2016)

ORIGINAL MUSIC (sponsored by Lexon Printing)

BENJAMIN TALBOTT AND VICTORIA ASHFIELD - Galesa

JOHN HARDY MUSIC - Y Gwyll

JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD – The Aberfan Young Wives Club

PHOTOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING (sponsored by ELP)

ALEX METCALFE - The Lighthouse

RICHARD STODDARD – Yr Ymadawiad

STEVE LAWES – Aberfan: The Green Hollow

?PHOTOGRAPHY FACTUAL (sponsored by Genero)

BAZ IRVINE – The Aberfan Young Wives Club

PRODUCTION TEAM – Police 24/7

ROB TAYLOR – Extreme Wales with Richard Parks

STEPHEN HART – Aberfan – The Fight for Justice?

PRESENTER (sponsored by Deloitte)

BETI GEORGE – Beti and David: Lost for Words

HUW EDWARDS – Aberfan – The Fight for Justice

IESTYN GARLICK – Iestyn Garlick: Stori Mabwysiadu

RICHARD PARKS – Extreme Wales with Richard Parks

PRODUCTION DESIGN (sponsored by DRESD)

ARWEL WYN JONES - Sherlock

CATRIN MEREDYDD – Damilola, Our Loved Boy

RICHARD CAMPLING – Don’t Knock Twice

SHORT FILM (sponsored by University of South Wales)

THE CORPSE SERIES

LOCKED IN MY BODY

MEAT ON BONES

THIS FAR UP

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY (sponsored by Aberystwyth University)

ABERFAN – THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE

DAN SNOW ON LLOYD GEORGE: MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER

HILLSBOROUGH: YR HUNLLEF HIR

IESTYN GARLICK: STORI MABWYSIADU

SOUND (sponsored by AB Acoustics)

PRODUCTION TEAM – Damilola, Our Loved Boy

RICHARD BROOKS – Decline and Fall

PRODUCTION TEAM – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

SPECIAL AND VISUAL EFFECTS (sponsored by University of Wales Trinity Saint David)

DOGS OF ANNWN LTD – The Lighthouse

PAUL WRIGHT – The Chamber

PRODUCTION TEAM – Sherlock

TELEVISION DRAMA (sponsored by Media Access Solutions)

35 DIWRNOD

ABERFAN: The Green Hollow

PARCH

WRITER (sponsored by The Social Club. Agency)

FFLUR DAFYDD – Y Llyfrgell/The Library Suicides

JAMES BUTTON – The Corpse Series

OWEN SHEERS – Aberfan: The Green Hollow