Deputy council leader in cameo role

Deputy council leader Neil McEvoy will see the world premiere of a film in which he plays a cameo role as a Mexican journalist tonight at Cardiff International Arena as part of the launch of the Night of the Champions boxing festival. The film, Risen, directed by Neil Jones charts the life of Welsh boxing legend Howard Winstone, and was filmed in his hometown of Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff. Councillor McEvoy said: "The premiere of Risen will be a major event for Cardiff. I am told that ticket sales are going well and we could have the most attended UK film premiere ever. It would be great for Cardiff to set this record with a film about a Welsh hero. "For sport and boxing fans, the film premiere will be a must as the number of boxing champions present will be huge. How often will anyone have the opportunity to rub shoulders with the Marvin Haglers of this world? "Being able to play a small cameo role in the film was great fun. Meeting somebody like Erik Morales, a boxing legend, was a fantastic experience. Playing a Mexican journalist has given most of my friends a good laugh also. "To be serious though, this film will give worldwide exposure to Wales and Cardiff. Importantly, the legacy from this project will be to better the life chances of kids at risk. Ideally, we need a successful Night of Champions event, to give us the opportunity to host it again." Risen director, Neil Jones, said: "Risen has been an amazingly satisfying project for me. Being from Merthyr Tydfil and being a boxing fan, making a film about Howard Winstone is a dream come true. With more world champions involved than any other film, Risen will have an element of realism which has been lacking in previous boxing films. "Everyone involved in the film is so proud that the premiere will be held at the prestigious WBC Night of Champions event in Cardiff where we will hope to break the Lord of the Rings record for attendance for a premiere. With the support of the WBC and Cardiff Council we are confident of doing this." The WBC Night of Champions international boxing festival will run for three days at Cardiff International Arena finishing with an awards evening on Saturday. Boxing stars Erik Morales, Colin Jones, Ricky Hatton, David Haye and Vitali Klitschko will also be attending the festival.