Berwyn Rowlands
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John Berwyn Rowlands (born September 1966) is a Welsh creative producer who founded and continues to lead the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival. Previously he was chief executive of Sgrîn, Media Agency of Wales from 1997 to 2006 and director of the Welsh International Film Festival from 1989 to 1997.


Early life

In 1978 Rowlands was the youngest person to establish a local group (Aelwyd) of the Welsh youth voluntary organisation Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Aelwyd Llangoed met in the primary school until 1983. While a pupil at Ysgol David Hughes, Rowlands established the school magazine ''San''. Rowlands moved to Aberystwyth in 1986.  While in Aberystwyth he established the theatre-in-education company Cwmni Cadwyn which toured his play ''Dwirnod Olaf Elfyd Wyn Roberts 17 Blwyddyn Oed'' commissioned by British Institute for Traffic Education Research (BITER).  Rowlands then joined Ffilmiau Rebeca as a researcher on the Welsh language television programme ''Tudalen 88''.


Career

Rowlands established the Aberystwyth-based company Premiere Cymru Wales in 1990 with the then director of
Aberystwyth Arts Centre Aberystwyth Arts Centre ( Welsh: ''Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth'') is an arts centre in Wales, located on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus. One of the largest in Wales, it comprises a theatre (312 seats), concert hall (1,250 seats ...
Alan Hewson.  Premiere produced the Welsh International Film Festival from 1990 to 1998. In 1995 Rowlands produced the feature length drama for S4C ''Llety Piod'' starring
Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...
and
Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles; born October 20, 1948) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters within the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice ...
. Premiere published a number of magazines including ''Ffocws,'' a bi-monthly bilingual magazine for the Welsh media industry, from 1994 until 1998.   Rowlands was appointed as the chief executive of Sgrîn, the Media Agency for Wales in April 1997.  During his tenure Sgrîn co-ordinated the establishment of a pan-Wales film location service, Wales Screen Commission and the National Screen & Sound Archive in partnership with the
National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...
. In 2006 Rowlands left Sgrîn and established The Festivals Company.  Through this company he set up the
Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex a ...
, an international competition for LGBT+ short films awarded annually in Cardiff.


Personal

An out gay man, Rowlands has been active with campaigning groups including Cylch – the Welsh language lesbian and gay society founded in Aberystwtyh in 1990.  He entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner Grant Vidgen on Dydd Santes Dwynwen 2006 (25 Jan) and in 2012 the couple were the first same-sex couple to compete on the Welsh language game show ''Siôn a Siân''.  From Anglesey originally, Rowlands now lives in Cardiff. In 2020 Rowlands was nominated for outstanding contribution to LGBT life in the 2020 LGBT Awards. He has been recognised as an influential LGBT+ person in Wales, earning a place on the ''Western Mail''’s Pinc List each year since the list was first published in 2015. Also in 2015 Rowlands was listed in the Wales Arts Powerlist as one of fifty people making a mark on Welsh culture due to the success of the Iris Prize. Rowlands was presented with a
St David Awards The Saint David Awards (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Gwobrau Dewi Sant'') are an annual government awards scheme which recognizes exceptional achievements by Welsh people, Welsh citizens within Wales, the UK and globally. They are the highest accola ...
award for Culture by the
First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...
in 2022 recognising his work with the Iris Prize.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Berwyn 1966 births Living people 20th-century Welsh LGBTQ people Welsh film producers LGBTQ film producers 21st-century Welsh LGBTQ people