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A fictional conspiracy thriller based around the crisp industry, directed by a Maesycymmer animator and comic artist, is in the running for a Bafta Cymru.

Josh Hicks’ animated Spectre of the Bear is in the running for best short film at this year’s Bafta Cymru Awards, being held later this month.

Starring Hollywood actor Bill Nighy, alongside Maesycymmer actor Craig Roberts, the story is about a man who discovers a conspiracy in the crisp industry – with atmospheric cues taken from films such as 1976’s All the President’s Men and 2023’s Parallax.

Josh explained: “I directed the film and my company CPE Productions produced it with a very small team.

“BBC Wales and Ffilm Cymru funded it and it’s great they are taking a chance on adult animation. Apart from Golden Cobra, set in Ebbw Vale, the UK hasn’t done any adult animation on TV for about 15 years, so for them to recognise the value in that is great.”

The biggest name attached to the project is actor Bill Nighy – who came on board thanks to casting director Michael Llewellyn Williams. BBC 6 Music DJ Huw Stephens also makes a cameo.

Josh explained: “We had him for around an hour at a recording studio in Soho, London, and he smashed it out. He was such a pro with the script. It was amazing to hear him say the words 20 times better than you could ever imagine.”

The film has already done the rounds at several film festivals thanks to funding from the British Film Institute, and will hopefully get an airing on BBC Wales and iPlayer.

Spectre of the Bear is written by Ioan Morris, a friend of Josh’s from his travels in the comic book industry. It is produced by Nia Alavezos and animated by Tom Lucas and Dani Abram, with sound by Dai Shell.

Alongside directing his debut film, Josh has also been busy illustrating a new Minecraft graphic novel called Out of Order. Officially licensed by the game’s publishers Mojang the book will be released in March next year and is available to pre-order from Amazon.

The Bafta Cymru Awards night takes place at the ICC, Newport, on October 20.