Swansea City doc sets release date

YJB Films has announced that documentary Jack to a King: The Swansea Story will be released in cinemas across the UK on Sept 12.

The film tells the story of Swansea City FC’s journey from the lower rungs of league football, with the club being sold for £1 in 2001, to achieving a £90m promotion to the Premier League just 10 years later.

Directed by Marc Evans (Hinterland, Patagonia), it recounts the journey of a group of dedicated Swansea City fans that came together to save their football club and ended up turning their city into a worldwide brand.

The documentary includes archive and fan-submitted footage alongside intimate interviews with key Swansea City fans, players and staff. It also features an interview with the most maligned man in Swansea at the time, Tony Petty, who gives a rare interview reflecting on his time as club owner.

Those involved in the film include Oscar-winning associate producer James Marsh (Man on Wire), producer and documentary-maker Gwenllian Hughes and executive producers Mal Pope and Edward Thomas.

Evans said: “This is not just a film about the rise of Swansea City Football Club, but the story of a town and the people who made the club what it is today.”

Pope added: “This is a truly remarkable story of how a ‘rag tag’ band of builders, housewives, teachers and travel agents came together to save their football club and ended up turning their city into a worldwide brand.”