This darkly Christmas-themed Short Film Showcase was submitted by Richard Mansfield from Mucky Puppets. If you’d like to submit a film to be shown, email me at info@blueprintreview.co.uk

Richard Mansfield started making puppets films in 2005 under the name Mucky Puppets. Since then he has made almost 30 short films and is currently working on his first feature film WOLFSKIN. Richard uses many different types of puppet in his films but has recently moved to using shadow puppets. The puppets are designed and then cut from card and jointed. The puppets are then held up to a screen with an overhead projector for the backdrops. Additional silhouettes can be placed in the foreground between the camera and screen creating a sense of depth. The theme of all of Richard’s films is very dark and creepy. He has had success with recent cautionary tale adaptation Suck-A-Thumb and its sequel You only SUCK twice He currently working on the third film in the series Mother Sucker. For more information on upcoming films and images from WOLFSKIN please go to www.muckypuppets.blogspot.com and to help in the fundraising effort for Mother Sucker, please visit www.indiegogo.com/mother-sucker

The Phantom Coach is a ghost story based on the classic short story by Amelia B. Edwards. It’s one of my favourites and a perfect subject for a shadow film. Essentially the story is very simple; a young man lost on the moors one dark evening as the snow starts to descend. He meets an old man who warns him of the danger traveling in the treacherous weather. Our hero decides he must return to his wife and in the final part of his journey he has a terrifying supernatural experience.