Your Hand in Mine

Old age hits, often along with loss of partner, mobility and abilities. Can it be embraced or does it have to be endured? Might it include love?

Concerns about how best to embrace or endure old age have not been relieved since this film was produced, the arguments for and against living in a Home or at home still raging, not least because of the variable quality and level of care available on both fronts. But, what this film demonstrates, is that although the past is inevitably often going to be a sweeter place for the elderly to inhabit, it is still possible for some to defy the odds and enjoy a dynamic, romantic present.

This acclaimed film, sponsored by the Welsh Arts Council, had its premier at the National Film Theatre in London on 16/5/1980 and was broadcast on BBC Wales the following evening. It was filmed in and around Cardiff (e.g. Adamsdown, Llandaff Fields, Canton) and features 'Ollie' and 'Nellie'. It was directed by Geoff Thomas (b.1947) of Rhydyfro, a graduate of Newport Film School. He produced the film with his wife Frances Gallaher, a former newspaper editor who, via their company Scan Film Productions, went on to write and direct the documentary 'Mr Hearst and Mr Kane' (narrated by Orson Welles) which was screened on Channel 4 following its premier – as 'Citizen Kane a Cynan' - on S4C's opening night in 1982.