National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
This film is currently unavailable

Clywedog Dam and Aberfan
A visit to Clywedog Dam, with shots of it before completion, and some painful images of the aftermath of the Aberfan tragedy.
From the collection of:

Overview
Following hard on the heels of the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley, Clywedog Dam was completed in 1967, despite protests in 1966 over the loss of 615 acres of agricultural land to provide water for Birmingham. 1966 was also the year in which tragedy befell the mining village of Aberfan. An unstable coal tip slid down onto the village and school. 144 lives were lost, 116 belonging to children. Condolences came from far and wide including, as can be seen, a wreath from San Remo.
Life was never the same again for the people of Aberfan after a Merthyr Vale Colliery spoil tip slid rapidly and fatally down the mountain (Mynydd Merthyr) on the morning of 21/10/1966. A series of tips had been built on top of porous sandstone and underground springs and were known to be unstable owing to earlier, minor slips. Warnings of instability had been ignored, the tips had never been surveyed and were being continually added to in a haphazard manner. The National Coal Board, owing to its lack of any coal tipping policy, was held totally responsible for the disaster which saw tonnes of rock and shale, in liquefied slurry form, inundating the village and school in minutes.
Related

Merthyr Vale and Aberfan: Coronation festivities Merthyr Vale and Aberfan: Coronation festivities
Non-Fiction 1953 11 mins Silent Location: Merthyr Vale/Ynysowen
Coronation capers in mining villages: street parties, 3-legged racing and a Commonwealth-themed carnival with slaves and a caged canary.

Merthyr Vale and Aberfan: Festival of Britain festivities Merthyr Vale and Aberfan: Festival of Britain festivities
Non-Fiction 1951 16 mins Silent Location: Merthyr Vale/Ynysowen
The mining communities of Merthyr Vale and Aberfan pull out all the stops to celebrate the festival in style.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland
Inside Film 2012 27 mins
L.A. Confidential's screenwriter explains why he thinks writer's block is a myth, and reveals Clint Eastwood's unique powers of persuasion.

Olivier Assayas (Masterclass) Olivier Assayas (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2010 41 mins
Irma Vep writer/director Assayas moved from film journalism to filmmaking – a fascinating journey told with disarming honesty to Jonathan Romney.

Roger Corman in Conversation Roger Corman in Conversation
Inside Film 2013 61 mins
Jack Nicholson, Boris Karloff, Francis Coppola and making movies in five days – prepare yourself for Corman wisdom.