Nico Dafydd on Language, Landscape, and the Flight of the Shearwater
For filmmaker Nico Dafydd, storytelling begins with the land — and the language — that shapes it. His latest short, co-directed with Lleucu Non, draws from the rhythms of rural Pembrokeshire and the unseen emotional currents of family life. “It’s quite a personal story for a few reasons,” Nico says. “Living in Pembrokeshire we’re acutely aware of the weather, the seasons, the differences between rural and city life. I wanted to reflect this.”
At its heart, the film is a meditation on fatherhood — on pride, understanding, and the ways love adapts as people grow. Its thematic undercurrent follows the migratory journey of the Manx Shearwater, a bird that travels from the islands off the Pembrokeshire coast to South America. For Nico, that small but astonishing voyage mirrors the emotional distance and connection between his characters. “It’s not well known even locally,” he explains, “but those who dedicate time to it are deeply invested. It adds a very specific flavour to those communities in that area of West Wales.”
The idea for the film arrived suddenly, like a gust off the sea. “The idea came fully formed, which is very rare for me,” Nico recalls. One autumn, while his father-in-law volunteered with the rescue service, he began to see the metaphor unfold. The following year, he took his four-year-old daughter to release a stranded fledgling Shearwater. “That image of her wrapped up warm against the October evening was seared into my brain,” he says. “I knew I needed to make this film.
”From the beginning, Nico envisioned Lleucu Non as co-director and lead animator. Her sensitivity to movement and line helped give shape to the film’s lyrical tone. “I have a photo from that evening that I looked at often throughout production,” he notes, “to remind myself of why I was telling this story.”
For Nico, being a Welsh language filmmaker isn’t just a creative choice — it’s an identity. “Being a Welsh filmmaker is the most important aspect for me,” he says. “I have an urge to tell stories about our lived experience. The stories I’m drawn to are inevitably Welsh stories that bring their own set of cultural rules and shared history.” Telling the story of a small volunteer community in West Wales felt like both a privilege and a responsibility. “As a culture on the edge of mainstream consciousness,” he adds, “it’s so important to put ourselves on screen — to see ourselves reflected back.”
The emotional pulse of the film lies in acceptance — of change, of imperfection, of love that endures through tension. “I hope people are left feeling some kind of love,” Nico says, “and probably acceptance, even if it’s acceptance of change. It’s about ego in a way, and how we hold on to it, even more so in front of the ones we love most.”
Behind its quiet poetry, however, lay a technically ambitious production. The team decided to hand-draw the entire animation frame by frame, directly onto paper — a choice that demanded patience and precision. “It was a time-consuming and thoughtful process,” Nico admits. “We worked remotely with animators from across Wales and beyond, which was challenging, but there’s a personal touch to every frame that’s priceless.” He credits Amy, the producer, and Glen, production manager and editor at Winding Snake, for their guidance and encouragement. “Even if it was just to remind us how hard it was always going to be,” he says with a smile.
When it comes to the film’s identity, Nico sees no conflict between the local and the universal. “I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive,” he reflects. “Universality in emotion comes from stories that are specific to a time and place.” For him, the film’s strength lies in its specificity — its rootedness in West Wales, its use of the Welsh language, its focus on a single intimate moment. “Our best stories aren’t about Wales,” he says. “They’re about the lives within Wales — and how they interact with the rest of the world.”
Through its tender imagery and deeply personal storytelling, Nico Dafydd’s film captures not only a fleeting autumn night on the Pembrokeshire coast but the enduring spirit of Welsh cinema — grounded, poetic, and quietly profound.
#MADE-IN-WALES is part of FFilmic’s ongoing series celebrating emerging voices from Wales — spotlighting the filmmakers, stories, and creative visions shaping the nation’s cinematic future.