Desperate for a quiet pee, a man finds himself trapped in the midst of an unwelcome reunion.

Director’s Vision for ‘Trickle’

TRICKLE is based on a true story. I forgot to invite a friend of mine to my wedding, and only realised at his funeral.

He was, at one time, my closest friend. We wrote music together, and made stupid films on an old video camera. But over the course of a decade, we sort of drifted apart and saw less and less of each other. Then it just happened, and I can’t really explain it. Somehow in the chaos of it all, I didn’t invite him.

He sadly died not long after.

When this happened at his funeral, and I realised what I’d done, I felt a huge weight of regret and shame enter my life. I’ve spent a long time wondering what to do with it. What does anyone do with it? Are we just meant to carry it around with us, adding to it the whole time? Some things you can fix, others you can’t.

So, I decided to make a film about the moment it entered my life, trying to make sense of it. Replaying and rewriting it until it’s all fiction, so I can’t work out who the bad guy is anymore.

Visually, the whole idea was to make the viewer feel trapped. So we decided to have the camera at eye-level with him, locked off and never cutting for the duration. Just like Patrick, cornered in the bathroom, we can’t escape. Only in the last minute of the film does the camera slowly track forward, giving the feeling that the room is closing in on him.

I probably (definitely) under-appreciated what an ask that was for Tom Stourton, who played Patrick. We used a wide lens, so the camera was inches from his face for the full 8 minutes.

In the process of making Trickle, the production team scouted every toilet in London. We’re now experts on the subject. Come find us after a screening if you have any questions. But the fact that finding the perfect location was the hardest part, speaks to what a joy it was working with such a talented team.