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A movie about a racehorse from a Cefn Fforest allotment who won the 2009 Welsh Grand National has premiered at Blackwood’s Maxime Cinema.
Dream Horse, which is based on the real life story of racehorse Dream Alliance, was premiered on Sunday, May 23.
The film, which is set to hit cinemas on June 3, stars Australian actress Toni Collette as Jan Vokes – a barmaid at a working men’s club who brings together a group of people to breed the champion horse.
Meanwhile, Homeland actor Damian Lewis takes on the role of accountant Howard Davies.
The show also stars Gavin and Stacey‘s Joanna Page, as well as Game of Thrones and Stella actor Owen Teale – who plays Jan’s husband Brian.
Speaking to Caerphilly Observer before the premiere, Jan, who is originally from Aberbargoed but lives in Cefn Fforest, said it was “very strange” seeing her lived experiences turned into a film.
Speaking about Toni Colette’s portrayal, Jan said: “She took me off well, I was surprised.
“When they told me who was playing me, I thought how is an Australian going to? There’s a big difference in the accent.
“We went onto the set and saw them there acting, taking our part, and then watching the film. She did really well and she got the accent. She was really good.”
She also praised Owen Teale’s performance as her husband, Brian, and described the actors as “lovely, lovely people”.
“They had plenty of time for you, they chatted with you and they were lovely – really, really lovely. Considering how well known they are, they’re really down to Earth, lovely people.”
In the film, Jan’s character works in the Co-op, but in real life she works at the Asda store in Blackwood.
Meanwhile, the bar in which Jan’s character works in the film is based on the Top Club in Cefn Fforest, which Jan used to manage. It is at the club where Jan first met Howard Davies and the dream of running a syndicate was born.
The movie was directed by Euros Lyn, who insisted it was premiered in Blackwood before London.
Lyn, who comes from Ynystawe near Swansea, and has directed episodes of Doctor Who, His Dark Materials, Daredevil, Happy Valley, Broadchurch, Black Mirror, Sherlock, Torchwood, Casualty and more, spoke to Caerphilly Observer before the premiere.
He said: “There’s always a huge responsibility on the shoulders of us as filmmakers when you tell a real life story, because they’re not just fictional characters who serve a dramatic plotline – these are real people with real lives.
“Their story is up there on the screen for everybody to see, so there is a big responsibility there.
“I really hope that we’ve done their story proud by telling the truth and by telling it in the most dramatic, emotional way possible.
“I really hope that the universality of this story about a woman you’d never imagine in a million years could be the owner of a racehorse, could make that happen against all the odds, and for the horse that was raised on an allotment to become this incredible champion.
“I really hope that they will feel that we’ve done a great job of telling that story and that audiences across the world will be able to share in some of the joy that they experienced whilst they were in the syndicate with Dream.”
He added: “Why can’t Cefn Fforest be in a big Hollywood blockbuster and why can’t Caerphilly be in a big blockbuster?
“There are amazing people with amazing, talented stories to tell and it’s our job as filmmakers to seek out those stories and to go out there and make those films.
“You think of The Full Monty being set in Sheffield, or you think of the many, many Irish films that have travelled the world, sowhy can’t we do that in Wales? I think there’s a great opportunity here.”
The film is being released in the UK by Warner Bros, which described the film as “a classic story of triumph against adversity, and a tale of how a woman strives to make her dream a reality in a place where hope is thin on the ground”.
The film was funded by Film4, Ingenious Media and Ffilm Cymru, and has been supported by the Welsh Government.
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