A new short film shot on Plassey Square and Plassey Street earlier this year has just been released online, marking a quiet but confident return to filmmaking for South Wales director Jake Goddard.
Holy Rollers, a comedy horror about two mismatched priests called to perform an exorcism, was filmed in March 2025 and is now touring film festivals across the UK and Europe. It’s already received a nomination for Best Short Film at the Big Fridge Film Festival in London, and has been submitted to the Cardiff Mini Film Festival, with hopes of a screening in January.
The film was made on a small budget with a team of volunteers, many of them recent graduates from the University of South Wales’ film degree. Goddard’s parents offered their home as the main location, helping keep the production local and manageable.
“I hadn’t made a film in about eight years,” said Goddard, who previously worked on music videos and shorts around South Wales. “I was nervous going back into it, but the shoot was a lot of fun and I’m proud of what we made.”
The cast includes Aaron Jeffcoate (BBC, HBO) as Zack, the younger priest, and Simon Bugg (known for the Spider Mall video games) as Gabe, the older priest. Local actress Hannah Sheer plays Emma, and Cardiff comedian Jethro Bradley recent winner of the BBC Up-and-Coming Stand-Up Award—appears as Greg, the possessed man.
The film has been well received online and at early screenings, and Goddard says there’s interest in developing the concept further, either as a short series or feature-length version. Penarth remains the preferred setting.
“It’s a great place to film,” he said. “We’d love to keep the story here.”
Holy Rollers is available to watch on YouTube.
Share