Michael Sheen stars in UFO comedy inspired by his sighting
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Michael Sheen stars as eccentric ufologist Shifty Gruff in Out There, a Welsh comedy inspired by his childhood UFO sighting in Port Talbot, which he described as a 'phalanx of lights' floating over the sea.
- Simon Ryninks directs his debut feature Out There, a film rooted in west Wales’ 1970s UFO lore and shaped by personal grief, aiming to celebrate Welsh openness to folklore, magic, and the unknown.
- Out There premieres at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August and was shot primarily in Bridgend, Nelson, and Porthcawl, with additional filming in Ceredigion to capture the landscape central to the story.
- Nerys Amber Stocks plays Maz, a rebellious 16-year-old who links a UFO sighting to her father’s disappearance, anchoring the film’s exploration of belief, meaning, and emotional healing.
- The production team overcame unseasonably persistent rain during pre-production, only to enjoy miraculously dry weather during filming, which Ryninks jokingly credited to 'aliens and their advanced weather-control technology'.
Why it matters: The film turns a personal and regional curiosity—UFO sightings in west Wales—into a culturally resonant story, giving a platform to Welsh actors and folklore while using speculative mystery to process grief. For Sheen, it closes a loop between lived experience and artistic expression.
