The evening of Friday, 9 May saw a very large crowd gathering outside Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth, ready for one of the last shows at the venue before they close for renovation works.

Suspecting a small audience, the very modest local film maker, Brian Swaddling and the hard-working staff at the museum, set out 40 chairs thinking that would be a good turnout.

But when the doors opened at 7pm, Brian and the staff were greeted to a crowd so large that some people said that “it was like being at Leicester square!”

They were eager to watch ‘Afon’, a film made by Brian over the course of eight years.

Brian was astonished by the support as waves of people washed past him at the door.

No seat was left empty in the house, and many people unfortunately had to be turned away due to concerns of over crowding the auditorium!

In true Aberystwyth style, as Brian apologised that he wasn't allowed to let anyone else through the doors, those left outside applauded the artist, congratulating him.

They added simply that they would have to come to his next show instead.

A lovely sense of community from the people of the town permeated the whole event, and is a mark of how it is to be part of such a friendly town.

Brian film describes the journey of Afon Rheidol from source at Pumlumon, all the way to the harbour in Aberystwyth town and out to sea. It uses voices from the community, poems written by local poets, land workers, artists, scientists and conservationists, (many of whom were present in the audience), overlaid onto guitar music written to describe the character of the river. This was all combined with stop motion photographic sequences of the surface textures of the water.

Feedback from the audience have described it as 'hypnotic', 'informative', 'relaxing', and 'a fascinating experience recording many valuable local histories concerning the town and the river's catchment area'.

The evening began with a few sentiments concerning the rights of the river to a healthy life, and without further ado the film played for just over an hour. Many of the attentive audience stayed after the show to ask questions, and even help pack up the seating after all was done.

The event was a remarkable occasion. Filling the museum to capacity, reassuring the museum staff that there will be life once they return to normal service, and launching the life of the film with the kind of enthusiasm the artist hadn't imagined possible.

Brian would like to extend an enormous diolch to all who attended. Days later, he is still staggered by the support.

For those who were unable to make it in on Friday, and for anyone else who would like to see the film, the next screenings are being held at Aberystwyth Arts Centre’s cinema this summer as part of the Musicfest programme. For further information, keep your eyes on the Aberystwyth Arts Centre event pages, and the Musicfest website: https://musicfestaberystwyth.org/