Swansea Bay Film Festival
The Swansea Bay Film Festival was a film festival organized by The Academy of Media, Recording, Interactive, Television and Stage Arts that took place in Swansea, Wales between 2006 and 2011.  It shut down in 2011 after significant criticism of their treatment of entrants
== Festival mission ==
The festival promised to honour the individual voice.  Its goal was to provide a worldwide public forum for independent and experimental film makers and to offer educational outreach. The Swansea Bay Film Festival was a qualifying festival for the British Independent Film Awards.  The Academy of Media, Recording, Interactive, Television and Stage Arts (AMRITSA) organized the event and the festival's Special Selection Committee, composed of seasoned filmmakers, representatives from The City and County of Swansea, The Dylan Thomas Centre, and The Department of Adult and Continuing Education at Swansea University.
== Critical response ==
Director Michael Attardi said that, The Swansea Film Festival is better than Cannes.*  
== Criticism ==
The festival was described by participants as a sham and the worst film festival.. In June 2011 The Guardian headlined the Swansea Bay film festival as a  'disaster'.  Filmmakers described an empty festival where they were expected to do all of their own promotion.  Catherine Zeta-Jones has resigned as patron of the Swansea Bay Film Festival and Michael Sheen has resigned as vice president following criticism of the festival. Festival organiser Binda Singh has been singled out for the most criticism.
== Winners ==
2010 – main categoriesBest International Documentary:From Ararat to Zion (Armenia)– Edgar Baghdasaryan and Fr Mesrop Aramian
Best International Feature Film: Carmilla Hyde (Australia) – Dave De Vries
Best International Environment and Ecological Film: Poison Wind (USA) – Jenny Pond
Best in the Festival: Shooter (UK) – Ronnie Goodwin
Best Short Film (Under 20 Mins): Amid The Rubble - Mike Dunkin. D.O.P Jeremy Veale
2009 – main categoriesBest Documentary: War of the Gods (USA) – Jennifer Abbott
Best International Feature Film: Blue Bus (USA) – Phil Scarpaci
Best Feature Film: Gods of Circumstance (USA ) – Justin Golding
Best in Festival: Jackson (USA) – JF Lawton
2008 – main categoriesBest International Short Film: Appassionata (Germany) – Mirko Echghi–Ghamsari
2006 – main categoriesBest Feature Film: Footsteps (UK) – Gareth Evans
Best Feature Film Under 75 Minutes – Teenage Wasteland (UK) – Andrew Jones (filmmaker)
Best Short Film (Under 20 Mins): Tomorrow Never Dais (UK) – Anthony James
Best Short Film (Under 10 Mins): Virtual Insanity (UK) – Noel Hines
Best Noir: The Girl the Gun & the Desert (UK) – Alun D Pughe

== External links ==
remotegoat.co.uk, Swansea Bay Film Festival 2008
news.bbc.com, June 3 2006, Swansea premieres film festival