Crybaby: Celebrating the Success of Eleri Edwards
Eleri Edwards is an animator from Caerphilly in South Wales. She studied animation at the University of South Wales and went on to win the Emerging Filmmaker Award at Oceanside International Film Festival for her graduate film The Goat. Shortly after, Eleri received a diagnosis for Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which motivated her to create her deeply personal, semi-autobiographical short film Crybaby.
Crybaby is an eleven-minute, 2D animated short film about autism and the overwhelm that can be caused by negative internal voices. The narrative follows 24-year-old character Carys, who is moving out of her familial home and reflecting upon her memories of childhood. The film encompasses themes of neurodiversity, disability, social consciousness and self acceptance, approached with both pathos and humour in equal measure.
“Crybaby started out as a way for me to document my experiences, from childhood right up to my official diagnosis. I’m excited to have been commissioned by Ffilm Cymru to make this film happen. I hope that it can make people laugh, whilst also raising awareness about the ways that autism can affect women and girls.”
Eleri teamed up with Biggerhouse Film, a production team led by Stephen Clarke and Tom Stubbs, who support and mentor neurodiverse artists and filmmakers and help to get their voices heard. Alongside a successful Kickstarter campaign, Eleri secured Ffilm Cymru’s Beacons: Short Film Funding in association with BFI Network Wales, which enabled her to fully realise her ideas and create the film that means so very much to her.
At the time, Eleri was working here with us on the third series of Dave Spud. At Cloth Cat we believe in nurturing the strengths of our talented team by investing time in training and R&D for personal development. When Eleri approached us for support with her project, we were more than delighted to help. Together with Biggerhouse Films and Media Cymru, Cloth Cat was able to host a Moho Animation Training course, delivered by industry expert Dani Abram. Eight animators participated in the two-week-long programme, developing and refining their animation skills whilst working experimentally on Eleri’s short film. The training course was a real triumph and has since gone on to become Cloth Cat Academy’s most popular instalment!
The film had its premiere screening at the Oska Bright: Animated Shorts event at Cardiff Animation Festival 2025 where it was very favourably received. Crybaby has also been shown in Eleri’s hometown of Caerphilly. It was selected as one of four Welsh films to be showcased at Cynefin Caerffili’s event Ffilmiau Ffili / Philly Films. It’s been brilliant to see Eleri progress from a graduate animator to a professional filmmaker with the confidence to share her powerful and thought-provoking story. We’d like to offer Eleri a big congratulations and wish her every success with the distribution of her short film on the festival circuit in the coming months!
You can find more short films produced through Ffilm Cymru and BFI Network’s Beacons scheme on BBC iPlayer. Now on its fifth series, Beacons: Short Films from Wales celebrates a diverse selection of Welsh talent in film and animation.
