About the film
A funny, true-ish story about three misfits, one newspaper, and the little Welsh town that wasn't ready for them.
In the Welsh valleys town of Merthyr Tydfil, three unlikely allies launch a scrappy newspaper — The Rag — and find themselves squaring up to the local council, a cabal of corporate crooks, and the long-established Merthyr Express.
It is a David-and-Goliath comedy-drama: warm, funny and true, told in lurid colour with the loose, hand-held energy of documentary. Shot with improvised edges, its cast of acclaimed Welsh actors give it a fresh, messy, lifelike quality.
Based on (mostly) true events, The Rag brings Merthyr forward as a character in its own right — a town that refuses to be talked down to.
The Rag was written by Lyn Williams, John Durbin and Anthony Bunko — three of the misfits who lived it. Back in the early 2000s they really did run a paper called The Rag in Merthyr Tydfil, and the film is their own story, told with relish and a healthy dose of artistic licence.
Writer
One of the three writers behind The Rag — and one of the misfits who lived it. Lyn was part of the team that launched the original Rag in Merthyr Tydfil back in the early 2000s, and the film draws straight from those years of taking on the town from a back-room paper.
Writer
Co-writer of The Rag and another of its original architects. John helped run the real paper in Merthyr in the early 2000s, and brings that first-hand, ink-under-the-fingernails knowledge of small-town journalism to the script.
Writer
A best-selling author and playwright from Merthyr Tydfil. His books include All Roads Lead to Merthyr, Never Mind the White Socks — Here's Merthyr Tydfil and the memoir Lord Forgive Me… But I Was a (Business) Bullshit Consultant, and his award-winning short films include Home (Best Short, Cardiff International Film Festival) and Wheels (BBC). He co-writes The Rag, turning the team's real exploits into a script.