Award winning documentary maker Richard Butchins was attending a party last January when he made the acquaintance of an older gentleman named Frank. Over the course of their conversation Frank casually mentioned that he “used to be in show business a bit,” and revealed a cupboard full of old cans of film. Richard eventually realized that Frank was Frank Mumford, a legendary British marionette puppeteer who used to perform alongside the likes of Laurence Oliver and at venues like the Moulin Rouge and the London Palladium. The cans of film in Frank’s cupboard? They were a 50 year old treasure trove of lost and forgotten film and television puppetry.
Richard was so inspired by Frank that he’s decided to make a documentary about his life and career called An Attic Full of Puppets. Unfortunately, finding a lot of the archival footage that’s need to tell Frank’s story completely is a challenge and requires a specialized (read: expensive) researcher, as well as transfer costs and license fees to use the footage once its found.
To help pay for all of this, Richard and his team – which includes British puppeteer Darryl Worbey – are trying to raise $30,000 through IndieGoGo. You can check out Richard’s pitch embedded above and if you’d like to support this worthwhile project, you can support An Attic Full of Puppets on IndieGoGo.
