The King & Dai

Synopsis

The King and Dai tells the story of the Porthcawl Elvis Festival, Europe's largest Elvis Tribute Festival. For one weekend every year, the otherwise sleepy seaside town turns into a celebration of all things Elvis, attracting fans and Elvis impersonators all around the world, culminating in a fascinating stew of cheesy kitsch and utter sincerity. Directed by South Wales-based David Barnes, what begins as a light-hearted portrait of the festival soon turns into an engrossing investigation; bickering and bitter fall-outs between former organisers, grapevine-rumours and chaos, throughout which Barnes attempts to deliver a coherent narrative and figure out what on Earth is going on. The festival emerges as some kind of strange metaphorical parallel with the King himself: an innocent start, buoyed by great initial success and enthusiasm, followed by all manner of backstage mayhem once things start bloating. Even if you're not an Elvis fan, there's still something magnetic about the film's mix of cheese and humanity.