By Bethany Banks, Third Year, English
The themes around Puddle Man seem quite terrifying – a young boy evacuated from his parents, and faced with a looming, mysterious manifestation of his fears in the shadowy Dartmoor countryside, the eerie ‘Puddle Man’. Yet, speaking with director Held and actor Anderson, I am met with two enthusiastic, sunny creative individuals that make me all the more intrigued to find the root of the idea for the film.
When asked what prompted the creation of the film, Held revealed that ‘The idea came from a time in my life where I was really scared, and from that, I became interested in the strange effects fear can have on the brain – I wanted to make a film about that.’
‘When we are scared we interpret things differently, every sound, shadow and shape is a potential threat, especially if we don’t know what they are. Our minds fill in the blanks, and that can lead to us imaging some really strange things. I wanted to make a story about this phenomenon.’
Held also listed some films that proved inspirational. ‘I tried to immerse myself in films that had similar themes of fear and child actor leads. A few that standout are Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) by Guillermo Del Torro, and Where Is The Friend’s House (1987) by Abbas Kiarostami – that’s a really cool film. I watched a lot of films with a bit of magical-realism in them.’
Securing a location is not the only challenge that comes with making a short film. An initial obstacle is generating enough funding, which Held and his producer India Pluves overcame in a very innovative way.
Held reveals a more entrepreneurial side, as he explains: ‘We launched an Instagram account that promoted the story and the characters, and after initial buzz, we started to crowdfund. We sold lots of things! We sold hoodies, posters, even little bottles of The Puddle Man’s tears. We also had a newsletter – it was great as it kept everyone on board with what was happening.’
Something that Anderson seemed keen to maintain as a positive of the process, was the nature of the crew as made up predominantly by students. When I questioned him on how a crew led by mostly students compared to some of the other projects he’d worked on, Anderson exclaimed ‘It made it more fun!’
‘It was definitely different to other jobs with older people who have lots of experience – most people think this would mean it is better, but that’s not actually the case. Even though Jacob and the crew are younger, it was still really professional.’
Dainton seemed keen to express the level of understanding between himself and his director. He described this process as ‘Sometimes I say something on a set with an older director and they say “what are you talking about?” With Jacob, he seemed to know a little better, it was very good.’ It was lovely to see the way Held and Anderson appeared so passionate and aligned about their ambitions for the film.
An overall highlight of making the film was pretty universal across cast and crew, according to Jacob. ‘I think probably everybody would agree with this. One the second day of shooting (nicknamed Donkey Day), we were joined by Dermot, a donkey actor from a nearby sanctuary. He was great and everybody fell in love with him!’
Anderson nods along enthusiastically, his endearing love of animals made clear as he proudly presents a small hedgehog to the camera - he beams at me as I chuckle in surprise.
Felix Glanville
Leaving the conversation, I felt inspired by the two young creatives, and the dedication they have put into making an idea into reality. Held’s passion for his craft radiates, as does Anderson’s budding aptitude and enthusiasm towards the world of filmmaking.
Featured Image: Jacob Joseph Held
Puddle Man has been nominated by the Royal Television Society for Best Short Drama, the ceremony will be taking place at the Watershed on the 4th of March - support the University of Bristol for the win!
