Who is this 'Heartsfelled' ?

Coffee Cup Available from
crowdfunder.cu.uk/heartsfelled

 Grab yourself a nice cuppa, sit back and let me tell you about Heartsfelled.

As you may have gathered, if you've read previous blog entries here, the film we are making is based upon an epic, saga style poem called "The Fyrdhwaet Saga".  In real practical, down to earth terms, it would not be so interesting for so many people if we had just got somebody to sit and read out the poem on film with, maybe, a few flat illustrations.  So, being the writer of the project Patrisha Buck had to find a platform from which the tale told in the poem could be delivered.  But - poetry and performance poetry lay at the heart of this project's inception so Patrisha looked for a way to avoid just filming the story as a standard, linear, dramatic narrative . . . and that was when she met Heartsfelled!

Star Carr deer mask 

 Heartsfelled is the most intriguing fellow.  He is ageless and timeless and his soul raison d'etre is to gather, preserve, store and tell stories from across all of time and space.  As I've discussed in prior blog entries, stories are fundamental to humankind.  Our news, our education, our communications across all levels of encounter are all based on storytelling.  Recently our Director, Pete Buzzsaw Holland, was discussing the 11,000-year-old deer masks found at Star Carr in Yorkshire.  These are artefacts which represent the long-ago spiritualisation of nature and the telling of stories to encourage ritual and good behaviour among people who were struggling to survive an intense and significant climate change (Sound familiar?)  And d'you know what? Yep, Heartsfelled was there 11,000 years ago collecting those stories and storing them away for posterity.  Soon it will be time for those particular stories to be brought back into our life's repertoire, but not quite yet.  

Faith, religion, moral standards, cultural identity - these are all shared and passed down from generation to generation through stories.  But what of Heartsfelled himself, what kind of a character is he?  Well, he is a very gentle, very wise person.  He has a cheeky sense of humour and masses of charisma. 

Heartsfelled and his love
Julia.

When Patrisha first met him he gave her a fold with his stories about the goings on of a particular garden gnome community (pretty racy stuff as it turned out!) and told her three beautiful love stories, two his own and one from an ancestor of his from the days of the Viking raids ... and through sharing these stories Heartsfelled effortlessly let Patrisha know him to be unselfish, altruistic, self-sacrificing, self-denying. considerate, compassionate, kind, decent and noble.  He is a person of boundless generosity with a  raucous love for laughter!  He's also a lover of fine things, silk hats, fine clothes and, oh how he loves food and wine!

Patrisha also heard Heartsfelled read Dickens for the 350 years old Gentlemen's Society in Spalding, and she knew then that he was the one to represent her poem for the film . . . plus it turns out that he has studies Anglo-Saxon language and pronounces it perfectly ... what a bonus!

The Museum of stories

The Museum of Stories is where Heartsfelled resides and it's very interesting. It's hard to find because you have to believe in it and you have to "step through the long forgotten door" which is harder than it

sounds!  But, once there, you'll find glorious stream-of-consciousness displays that draw your eye and your imagination from one story to another.  The artefacts represent diverse tales  taking you from as shipwrecks to African jungle camps, from childhood comforts to creepy forests, through artefacts that tell of Roman, Greek, Egyptian or ancient Antipodean, Asian, Norse or European  tales you can linger on one or pass by and just let your thoughts take you wherever they will.  If you look hard when you first enter you might even catch a glimpse of one or two of the Ghosts for Times Past (as seen in our opening sequence for the film) as they are just a few of the people whose stories are there to be told ... or not, depending on what the viewer tunes in to or focuses on.  And, of course, you'll find Heartsfelled, if he's not out gathering more stories or walking the little dogs with his lady-love.

** If you would like a copy of food historian Julia Gant's collection of Heartsfelled's favourite recipes (genuinely authentic historic recipes) with illustrations and anecdotes all manner of good things included, or any other movie memorabilia or even a pre-order copy of the film .... you can get these by visiting crowdfunder.co.uk/heartsfelled

If you're not already a follower or fan of Zak Wylde Holland - you soon will be!

I often mention Zak in my posts, and you'll already get the impression that I am rather impressed by his creative and artistic skills as a filmmaker (trust me I've worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years and as a film studies teacher for nearly 15, I am qualified to know when something extra special is happening). Cinematography and directing a successful film shoot are true arts and Zak is, without any doubt, an extra-ordinary, upcoming artist in his field.

Sometimes I post photos because, let's face it, he is a good looking young man, isn't he!

I can only imagine that, over the next few years, Zak will have his own fan club of followers and enthusiasts for his work.  

Zak is made all the more charming by the fact that he is not in any way vain, he's strong, fit and intelligent but at the same time incredibly gentle and down-to-earth.  That's not to say he isn't a fireball of energy, he loves adventure, challenges and new experiences just as much as he loves his crackling home hearth and purring cats.

I shall be spending time on location with Zak Wylde Productions over this coming weekend and am planning to get some video interviews so that you-all can get to know Zak, and other cast and crew members, better.  But in the meantime, I'll leave you with a short video to admire Zak exhibiting just a few of his phenomenal gymnastic skills in 2017 . . . 

Real Treats for our followers and fans . . .

Today I have such exciting news ... alongside all the developments for the film, Heartsfelled himself is really coming to life before my very eyes!
Today I have an extra special treat for history buffs, food fans, fantasy fiction enthusiasts and, indeed, anyone who loves good fun - our historic fabrics and authentic historic recipes expert, Julia Gant, has decided to produce a special book of recipes for you.  The recipes will be Heartsfellled's favourite foods from across the centuries (as you know he is as old as time and as wise as every story).  I'm told that the first recipe will be for "Chocolate Port" as Heartsfelled says that a sensible little nip of this always helps the stories to flow.  Apparently, this week, he is claiming to be responsible for the invention of every good recipe ever written ... !
To give you an idea of just how seriously good Julia is, only four years ago she catered "The Grand Ball at Villa de Molina"  that was in the ground floor of Napoleon's villa on Elba. The recipes were Careme, Glasse, and Raffald, taken from the originals. The structure was based on one that grande cuisine, French Chef Marie-Antoine Careme himself did for Napoleon.
The recipes will be drawn from all eras and will be embellished with stories and pictures of Heartsfelled to explain how or why each became his one of his memorable favourites.
Not only will this book be fun but it will also give you authentic recipes and fascinating historic insights. 

A peek at one of the special 4and20 tables .... 

Heartsfelled can be seen here (and yes, that's Julia)  appreciating L'art de la Cuisine Francais - this photo taken at Elba! 

The story of a story . . .

Heartsfelled, a man of many guises

Those of you who've visited this blog before will be pretty familiar with our character, Heartsfelled.  
You'll know about him being a storyteller as old as time. And, you maybe know that in the upcoming film, Heartsfelled is telling a story called The Identity Stealer.

However, some folk are not so sure about the story of the Identity Stealer, so settle back and I'll explain:

The story actually began as a lengthy poem that I created when I was a performance poet.  

Patrisha, the Poet

The poem is called The Fyrdwhaet Saga and because I was feeling adventurous, it a few lines in Anglo-Saxon English.  
Based on someone I knew, it's a set of verses about a charismatic warrior who absorbs people's time and attention so much that I call him  Fyrdhwaet, The Identity Stealer.  
Being an academic myself,  but not being at all an expert or knowledgeable about Anglo-Saxon English, I took the poem to some learned experts to verify that I had written them well enough.  To be honest, I expected them to laugh and pat me on the head and that would be the end of that little project ...  so you can imagine how happy I was to be told to think of it as the beginning of a full-length saga and to keep on writing it.  And so it developed!

Patrisha, the scholar

In that first set of verses,  “Fyrdhwæt, The Identity Stealer” (his name meaning brave or warlike), we are told that his mother who bore him and all of his friends, his family, even his wife, find that in his presence their sense of self and identity become thwarted and sucked away.  So people turn away from him.

I spend happy hours researching Anglo-Saxon words and syntax to the best of my capability.

It's tricky, not least because our knowledge of this long-ago language is restricted to the few sagas and documents we have in the original (such as the wonderful Beowulf), but there's Bosworth and Toller's Dictionary and by the time I was writing this there was becoming some pretty good help on the internet too.

Coming back to the story itself, what we find in the tale of Fyrdhwaet is that he is brave and good at heart. So, when I extended his story to build the Saga it seemed right and proper that he become the slayer of his people's demons.

The Green Man is gone!

I thought hard about olde Englyshe customs and mythology and about how peoples seemed to 'worship' many gods and goddesses, each of which had a role to play in daily life such as bringing forth good crops, clean water or good weather or rain as and when needed. Similarly, the people's demons were creatures of nature, or rather of disturbed nature. So I designed my demons to be the bringers of bad times such as crop failure, drought, or scary darkness (eclipse).

Naturally, the people begin to starve and would have died out (apathy seems prevalent) if it weren't for one small, lone voice who manages to call upon Fyrdhwæt.  The sun won't shine so Fyrdhwæt slays the monster in the dark, alone and unrecognized.

In the second set of verses:  “Bealltain” and “The Silken Tretraw”  we are introduced to the first of three demons, the Tretraw. It is a beast which arrives at the beginning of spring, during the spring festival procession, and it commences to eat up all the trees and green growth, positing stones and rock in the place of sacred woods and vital agriculture.

In the third set of verses:  “Alban Heruin” and “The Thirsty Higghorþ” (a demon drank up the oxygen)

This Thirsty Higghorþ [pronounced High-hoarth . . . with a silent 'p' before the 'th' if you can manage it]  makes its living by drinking all the oxygen and goodness from the air. Once again a small, lone voice manages to call our hero Fyrdhwæt.  The sun won't shine on the battle so our hero struggles until he has slain the monster and saved the people.

In the final set of verses: “Samhain” and “The Miserable Maghmaugh” [pron:maw-maw] we witness our hero as he slays his third and final demon.  This one is a dwimor or ghost which dries out all the water supplies and sacred wells by turning the waters to rosin.

Having written all this, and performed it a couple of times, I set the poem aside to gather dust on a shelf somewhere and almost forgot all about it while tide and times shaped and reshaped my days.
. . . Then, during the Christmas break of 2017 while I was idle and supposed to be resting,

Patricia watches Zak of
Zak Wylde Productions

Julia Gant, Costumier and actress
Nigel Gant - Heartsfelled

I suddenly had the idea of taking the Saga to some new friends who just happened to be first class historians, re-enactors, experimental archaeologists and filmmakers . . !  I even discovered that Nigel Gant, who will play Heartsfelled, has actually studied Anglo-Saxon English. There's not so much of it in the film as we wanted the tale to be accessible to everybody, and lovely Nigel has made it perfect! 

Director and special action actor Pete
Holland of Zak Wylde Productions

As a production team, we've talked and we've worked and we've had a great time bringing this project together. 

At time of writing, we've got the opening sequence under our belts and are looking forward to a long summer of filming the three battle sequences as well as Heartsfelled himself in his Museum of Stories.






For the purposes of telling the story well, we have designed and represented the demons in animal

Amy - the beautiful side of the cunning
Miserable Maghmaugh!

form.  I felt this would be close to Anglo-Saxon thinking.    
The Silken Tretraw is a wolf, the  Higghorþ is a wild boar and the Miserable Maghmaugh is a deer.

. . . Oh, and Tretraw,  Higghorþ and Maghmaugh are names I made up! I hope that answers for you. Thanks again for your interest.

If you would like to pre-order your copy of the film, film and book or if you would like to have a special Heartsfelled T-shirt or sweatshirt or even a mug, or perhaps you'd like to come visit us on-set in Lincolnshire . . . then why not show your support and visit  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/heartsfelled

Thanks
PB

You know a good thing when you see it -

The support we're getting through  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/heartsfelled is wonderful.
Of course Zak Wylde productions have proven their talent and skills already in the opening sequence for Heartsfelled, The Identity Stealer - so it's not hard to understand why people want to pre-order the dvd or get their T shirt or even get the chance to visit us on site during this summer's filming.  
Clearly you all know a good thing when you see it.
Truly, I am thrilled. 

 

Heartsfelled: Day One - What a Film Crew!

It really was the very best day's filming for Heartsfelled.

Zak Holland and Patricia Buck working on the design of a shot.

There's a great deal to be said for good preparation.  In our case this meant that Pete Buzzsaw Holland (Director) and Zak Holland (Director of Photography) of Zak Wylde Productions  came and met me  on location at Ayscoughfee five days before the shoot.   
Consummate professionals that they are, they spend a careful, patient day walking through the shots, identifying potential issues and preparing for what was to come.  It was fun - but more importantly it meant that the big day, the real shoot, was both fun and fantastically well executed.
The locals were highly entertained as we paced out, sometimes acting out the sequences to see how they would go.  We walked all around Ayscoughfee's gardens talking about 'ghosts' here and supernatural people there!  Highly imaginative but possibly a quite amusing to the people who did not know what we were doing.

Then came the big day - Day One on location:

Pete and Zak take a well earned break - Zak is dreaming of chips!

Pete is one of the most patient, clear and calming directors I've ever watched.  Although most of my prior experience is with live events - I have been present on quite a few tv and film shoots in the past and am just knocked out with how smoothly this day went.  

The sun shone all day!

I've come to learn that clear sunshine sky does not simply mean that we had a nice sunny day together - it means that we had good, strong, consistent light with no cloud to vary the light levels and not even little drifts to cast annoying shadows!

Patricia observes as Zak lines up and frames his next sequence

As for Zak - cinematography is an art and Zak has a true artist's eye.  His signature shots, the framing, depth and composition and his understanding of how to bring a flat script to life all come together to mean that this film is already a product I am deeply proud of.  The Heartsfelled project has demands of its own, being fantasy, myth ridden and a little fantastical - it needs a particular set of skills to make it work.

Now we can't forget to mention Tina Holland - she is the organisational glue that holds this team together.  Heartsfelled could not be in better hands.  Here we see her and Zak in the quiet Crew Room at Ayscoughfee . . . . once again it's all about the careful preparation.  No chips in here Zak!!

Quiet crew room - no chips in here Zak!