Day One of the prestigious Carmarthen Bay Film Festival kicked off in Llanelli with the exclusive world premiere of a move set in Llanelli.

There was a spontaneous round of applause at the end of the screening of The Shadow Of The Missing at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli, on Monday night.

And cast and crew delighted members of the appreciative audience with an impromptu Question and Answer session on the film.

Shadow Of The Missing mixes comedy with ‘found footage’ horror as it tells the story of a group of filmmakers who go to an abandoned Llanelli church one night. Filming took place in the summer of 2015, but, since then, Park Church in Murray Street has been decimated by fire.

The blaze has been incorporated into the film – and plot lines were tweaked to make it add to the mystery.

Jamie Lee Smith, the American film producer behind the project, said: “We have built a story for our movie around the history and mythology of this region. It made sense to hold our very first screening right here where it all took place.”

Shadow of the Missing features several recognisable faces from the world of comedy, television, and film.

Jamie said: “We loved working with local talent both in cast and crew. They have been so supportive of this effort.”

Through a unique on-set mentorship programme, the project also provided opportunities for young filmmakers from across Wales and the UK to learn valuable real-life movie making skills.

Jamie will remain in the UK this week to promote both the movie, student mentorship, and the concept of filming in Wales in general.

Now in its fifth year, the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival promises is bigger and better than before. And all screenings are free to the public. Just turn up at the Stradey Park Hotel.

“We’re now firmly established on the international film festival calendar,” said festival chief executive Kelvin Guy.

“Entry submissions increase dramatically every year and we get film-makers from every corner of the globe entering the event.

The festival runs until Friday, May 13.

Tuesday night saw the premiere of another film from Wales – By Any Name. This action thriller, based on the book by Swansea author Catrin Collier, features award-winning Swansea-based actress Samira Mohamed Ali

There will also be screening of other major films, including one starring Brian Cox.

There will be a special gala awards presentation night on May 12. This will be hosted by TV personality Arfon Haines Davies.

Mr Guy said: “Film-makers will be flying in from Russia, Holland, the USA and many other parts of the globe.

“It is astonishing how the festival has grown in popularity from very small beginnings.

“They say great things grow from little acorns and that is very true of the film festival.”

There is added glitz and status to the festival as the event is on the approved list for BAFTA Cymru Wales.

You can find out more about the festival on the website –

http://www.carmarthenbayfilmfestival.co.uk/