The Welsh Government has been heavily criticised by a language campaign group for investing only £40,000 in Welsh language films since 2011 while spending £7 million on films in English.   

 

The Media Investment fund, worth £30 million over a period of five years, was set up by Welsh ministers in 2014. But in response to am information request by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Government stated that only 0.57% of money had been invested in films in Welsh:  

 

"In 2013/14, £40,000 was provided to support Welsh language-medium and £452,009 for English language-medium films. In 2014/15, £3,852,784 was provided for English-medium films and in 2015/16 £2,704,516 was provided to support English-medium films."  

 

Films that have taken money from the Welsh Government film pot, include 'Take Down' and 'Don't Knock Twice'.   

 

In a letter to Ken Skates AM, the minister responsible for the fund, Carl Morris, chair of the digital group of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said:  

 

"It is a matter of great disappointment that our Government, which is partly responsible for promoting Welsh, can favour the English language to such an extent, especially considering the talent and ability to create films of the highest standards in Welsh.  

 

"An investment of £7 million over three years in English is very substantial, and the paltry £40,000 is an insult to those who want to produce films in Welsh, the film and television industry working in Welsh, and supporters of the Welsh language more generally. The medium of film is an important means of promoting cultures, especially those expressed in minoritised languages such as Welsh. 

 

"We ask that you state publicly that you are not content with these figures and commit to take steps to rectify this situation in the coming years.  We recommend that you allocate at least 50% of the Media Investment budget, as part of a separate scheme, for projects in Welsh. 

 

"This is just one example among many of discrimination against the Welsh language within the Welsh Government's mainstream budgets, and we call on you to examine them all and take decisive action to invest more in projects which have a positive impact on the Welsh language."