Twin Town: Follow-up to cult film shot only on phones premieres

The stars of 1990s film Twin Town have reunited for a new work written in the pandemic and filmed on smartphones.

Rhys Ifans, Dougray Scott and Keith Allen all star in the romantic comedy La Cha Cha, set in Wales, which premiered in a rugby stadium on Friday.

The all-star cast had to create a bubble during filming on a 23-acre set on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea.

"We got to escape the bleak monotony of a pandemic to bring some joy, lunacy and liberty to the world," said Ifans.

The Notting Hill and Harry Potter star hailed director Kevin Allen, the mastermind behind Twin Town, for "boosting a nation's mental health with the little piece of heaven that is La Cha Cha".

The film describes itself as a "companion piece" to Twin Town, the dark-comedy set in Swansea centred around the Lewis twins - played by real-life brothers Rhys and Llyr Ifans - which was released in 1997.

For legal reasons, the new movie cannot be classified as a sequel to Twin Town, and returning actors will not be playing the same characters.

Melanie Walters, who played Gwen Shipman in hit BBC TV series Gavin and Stacey, also stars alongside guest appearances from rugby greats Alun Wyn Jones, James Hook, Scott Quinnell and Sean Fitzpatrick.

"There's lots of references to Twin Town in it and Alun's one of them," Allen told BBC Radio Wales.

The rugby influence continues as the Scarlets rugby team were "heavily involved" during filming, providing a fireworks display for the finale and hosted their premiere at their Parc Y Scarlets Stadium in Llanelli on Friday.

The independent film, which producers describe as a "counterculture romantic comedy with a big heart", is about a road-tripper who goes to scatter his grandfather's ashes stumbles on a rural campsite full of retired characters living off-grid.

The director came up with the idea during the Covid lockdown after his film course shut and he had a "huge hole in my world".

"I was stuck on this farm in the Gower not really knowing what lockdown was going to bring," said Allen.

"So I thought I'd write a movie, which I did. Then thought, 'why not get the Twin Town cast back for a laugh?'

"I think lockdown was responsible for getting everyone back together as we just found so many people at loose ends.

"We made the movie on peanuts, it kind of came out of thin air as most the cast was available.

"It was just a collective happening really… something that just evolved into a huge amount of fun."

Llyr Ifans felt the "only connection" with Twin Town was that most of the cast were in the 1997 Brit flick as the storylines are very different.

"Over the years, Kevin Allen has been very loyal of his cast in the original film casting us parts in other things," he told BBC Radio Cymru.

"This was an opportunity for us to pay him back because he was planning to open a film school and then he lost the money during Covid so everyone did it for free."

The coronavirus pandemic complicated filming arrangements as crew created an isolated bubble, living in caravans and tents on a farm.

"It was a real joy to be back in Wales filming with a lot of naked Welsh people," said Dougray Scott, the Mission: Impossible 2 and Ever After star.

"I loved filming with the Twin Town crew. I was honoured to be part of this, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather film."

The film was made in "extraordinary circumstances", shot entirely on smartphones, using anamorphic lenses to create a film fit for the cinema - and on a "shoestring budget" ahead of its Welsh release on Friday 17 September.

"I'm amazed at the brilliant cast, crew and local suppliers who came together to creatively collaborate on what I hope is a very special film," added Allen.

"It's really important to me that the film was made in Wales. I think we need more stuff based in Wales coming out of Wales."