An Abergavenny man has scooped a top film award for his moving tribute to commemorate the Aberfan disaster.

Owen Sheers, 42, won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for best writer for his highly commended ‘film poem’, Aberfan: The Green Hollow at this year’s British Academy Cymru Awards held in Cardiff over the weekend.

Mr Sheers, who was born in Fiji and brought up in Abergavenny has an international career as a as a poet, author and playwright.

“Given the subject and the emotionally daunting place I’d have to go to, it was difficult to approach,” said the father of two.

“After seven months of interviews with survivors, rescuers and parties involved in the disaster, the whole thing distilled over time. ??“I had to manoeuvre around the emotion of subject, and eventually take a hard look at the very real horror of what happened. It was a dark and difficult project, at times. ?

“There was some intense periods in guiding the survivors through, asking them to relive what happened was very difficult for them and myself.

“We were all aware of the need to tread very carefully, and were very conscious of the trauma involved. ??“I wanted to paint a picture of Aberfan before the disaster. It was a vibrant and strong community. For outsiders, Aberfan was part of the disaster, for those in the village, the disaster was part of Aberfan.”

Educated at local King Henry VIII school, Mr Sheers’ talent Eric picked up the prestigious Gregory Award and the Vogue Young Writer’s Award in 1999. His debut poetry collection, The Blue Book, was shortlisted for the Welsh Book of the Year in 2001.

Aberfan: The Green Hollow won three accolades, including Television Drama, Writer and Breakthrough Awards, at the St David’s Hall in Cardiff on Sunday in front of 1,000 guests hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenter Huw Stevens.

Written by Owen and performed by a glittering cast of Wales’s best-known acting talent, including Michael Sheen, Jonathan Pryce, Sian Phillips, Eve Myles and Iwan Rheon, the work includes contributions from the local community.

The awards honour excellence in broadcasting and production within film, games and television in Wales and showcase the country’s emerging talent.

Speaking after the ceremony, Hannah Raybould, Director of BAFTA Cymru, said, “Tonight has been a fantastic, vibrant and exciting celebration of the industry excellence we exist to acknowledge.

“We hope that those attending the ceremony and watching the livestream around the world now appreciate the talented individuals who are either working in Wales or those from Wales working on productions across the UK. ??“They are truly inspiring and we look forward to working with them to engage with the next generation at our events over the coming year.

“We have received more entries, welcomed more guests, engaged with more partners and worked with our dedicated committee to ensure that these awards, the pinnacle of the year of production, are a must-attend event and enjoyed by all. We look forward to seeing them grow from strength to strength.”

The 50-year anniversary of Aberfan featured across a high number of nominations this year, with four awards picked up for works concerning the disaster which killed 116 children and 28 adults. ??

Catastrophe struck after a National Coal Board colliery slag tip crashed down a mountain, before engulfing the local junior school, at 9.15am that morning.