Blue Felt
Rat Head, a scouse rat puppet (not a scouse mouse, he hates that), was abandoned by his creator in a world where puppets are brought to life by taking a portion of their creators’ souls. One evening, after too much tiny wine, Rat Head felts a small face to try and curb his crushing loneliness – however, he accidentally imbues a bit of his own soul into the face and brings it to life. In a world where puppets are not allowed to make puppets of their own, as they ‘don’t have the right’, Rat Head risks dismantlement for bringing a new puppet into the world when his landlord uncovers Rat head’s inadvertent tiny bean child.
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Paddy ClarkeDirector
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Paddy ClarkeWriter
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Paddy ClarkeProducer
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Mark FleischmannKey Cast"Frog Sinclair (Podcast Host)"The Princess Switch, Being Human, Wolfblood, The Marlow Murder Club
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Daniel FordKey Cast"The Bean"
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Michael HawkinsKey Cast"The Landlord (Barry)"The Cage, The Long Shadow, Coronation Street, Bank Of Dave
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Paddy ClarkeKey Cast"Rat Head"
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Leonie Abisgold-RaynerColouristBlack River Meadow, The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On, Twisted Showcase
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Leonie Abisgold-RaynerLive Action VideographyBlack River Meadow, The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On, Twisted Showcase
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Project Type:Animation, Short
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Genres:Comedy, Comedy-Drama, Drama, Dark Comedy, Irreverent
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Runtime:11 minutes 39 seconds
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Completion Date:April 13, 2026
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Production Budget:100 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital, 2K
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
Paddy Clarke is a Liverpudlian writer, filmmaker, and animator. Paddy’s writing often clashes the absurd with the everyday as a way to explore complex interpersonal relationships, mental health, and sexuality. After completing an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester and working as a content writer for several years, Paddy completed a Production Assistant Apprenticeship at the BBC in 2023. He currently works as a commissioning coordinator at BBC Writers.
Paddy’s play ‘Sauce and Sorcery’ ran at Liverpool’s Royal Court throughout August 2025 and told the story of two wizards running a struggling chippy in Liverpool’s Old Swan. He is currently developing the same idea as a TV Sitcom pilot as well as a Liverpool-based Folk-Horror TV Drama pilot called ‘Why Are You Here’. He was previously longlisted for the Bruntwood Award with his play ‘A Submarine For Mice’ and shortlisted for the Kenneth Branagh Drama award for his play ‘The Unending Death Of Ethel Hole’.
‘Blue Felt’ is Paddy’s debut short film and was made with no funding in a sought after location, a 2ft square corner in his spare room. The film was created as a way for Paddy to apply a Scouse lens to his favourite medium.
Seeing Blue Felt come to fruition after starting, and finishing, as a strange little idea built and shot in a 2ft square corner of my spare room in Liverpool is a strange, but uniquely satisfying, feeling. I hope someone out there enjoys this Scouse, stop-motion, comedy-drama about finding what matters in the world.