BELTANE

Beltane
Mycelium Productions, Ltd
BFI NETWORK Film Hub South West

Website: beltanefilm.com | Website: bfi.org.uk | Website: Film Hub South West

Facebook: @beltanefilm | Instagram: @beltanefilm | Twitter: @beltanefilm

A woodland camping trip becomes a nightmare, when the careless Josh is separated from Sarah and given a stark choice - become the Fae Queen’s consort or perish.

A camping trip becomes a nightmare for Josh and Sarah when they kindle the ire of Unseelie Fae.

While camping in the British countryside, Josh stumbles into and desecrates a liminal space one May Day eve. Lured deeper into the woods, Josh is 'Fae-led’ and separated from Sarah, before being offered a stark choice - to become king for a year, the consort of a Fae Queen, or wither and perish alone.

Steeped in British folklore, Beltane is a stop motion short film, an evocative exploration of the Summer King myth. A cautionary tale, it is a portrayal of the cyclical nature of our natural world, of life, death, and rebirth. It explores themes of humanity's careless attitude towards nature and feminine agency.

About

Beltane is a 5-minute fantasy-horror, fairy tale stop motion film directed by Helena Houghton and written by Matt Gibbs, with the support of Film Hub South West as part of BFI NETWORK, awarding funds from The National Lottery.

Created in just over six months at Puppet Place, Beltane draws upon the skills and talents of a range of Bristol based artists. As a creative team, we share a love of and interest in fairy tales, and believe that such stories enable us to talk openly about the human condition; especially, our relationship with each other and nature. With Beltane we wanted to create our own tale inspired by British folklore, which speaks about our relationship with the environment, and how we’re losing that connection and perspective in our modern lives.

Media

Animating the environment: Beltane case study - Film Hub South West

Supported by
Film Hub South West as part of

Director
Helena Houghton

Producer
Yomi Ayeni

Writer & Producer
Matt Gibbs

Assistant Producer
Katie Hood

Concept Artist
Joe Latham

Editor
Dan Butt

BFI NETWORK Executive Producer
Jess Wheeler

BFI NETWORK Project Coordinator
Niamh Coogan

BFI NETWORK South West Coordinator
Mason Scott Robinson

Lead Fabricator
Izzy Bristow

Lead Model Maker
Saskia Tomlinson

Fabricators & Model Makers
Molly Anstee
Cameron Grant
Erin Hilsdon
Yi Bing Huang
Kieran Leonard
Sander Matulewicz
Leo Bournas Milazzo
Kossara Sokolova
Jackson Street

Lead Animators
Sophie Marsh
Roos Mattaar

Animators
Lily Insall
Yi Bing Huang
Cameron Grant

Set Dresser
Saskia Tomlinson

Puppeteer & Consultant
Cat Rock

Shadow Puppet Designer
Izzy Bristow

Lead Compositor
Ben Mars

Compositors
Michael Daye
Yi Bing Huang
Amber Lee
Dominic Pitt
Jackson Street

Original Music by
Imprints

Guitars, Bass, Piano & Percussion - Andy Truckle
Violin & Strings - Vince Martin

Recorded, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by
Sam Blighe at Unlucky XVII Audio

Captions and Audio Description
Screen Language

Special Thanks
Puppet Place - Residents & Trustees

University of the West of England (UWE)
Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education (ACE)
Ian Friend and Gary Embury

Ash Farkas, Kezia Tempest & Chris Thompson

Tamara Johns & Dan Butt

Mark Swaffield

Tom Sydenham

House of Funny Noises

And all our Crowdfunding Supporters

Original image by NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team, compositing and alteration by Ben Mars and Helena Houghton

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