Interview: Former Park Hall pupil bags a BAFTA

A FILM-maker who grew up in Castle Bromwich has once again won one of the industry’s top awards.
Jonathan Hodgson was delighted to pick up a second BAFTA for his animation Roughhouse – inspired by real-life events from his student days.
The 15-minute film – which took 15 years to bring to the screen – bagged the award for best British short animation at the recent  awards ceremony.
The project was completed last year having been put together over more than a decade.
Speaking to Other Side of Solihull, Mr Hodgson said: “It’s not often you finish a film and get immediate success.
“There’s a lot of highs and lows on a long project like this, one of the big highs is actually getting the money to make it!
“Then it’s a slog to get it done and there’s relief when you finish and a pause to see what the world thinks.”

Roughhouse was inspired by events which unfolded in the student digs the creator had shared with friends several decades ago.
When one of the group stopped playing the rent, the other flatmates had “made his life a misery”.
“We wondered how we could have done that to someone who was a friend,” said Mr Hodgson, now 58.
“It was something I felt uneasy about, but I also thought it was worth talking about and exploring.
“As a film-maker you are always looking for a good story and if you experienced something yourself then that makes it easier in a way.”
The former Park Hall School pupil had enjoyed the likes of Tom and Jerry and Wacky Races as a child, but hadn’t considered a career in animation.
In fact it was the chance to soak in Liverpool’s vibrant music scene that tempted him to stop studying illustration in Brighton and head to Merseyside.
It was only when he was signed up on the animation course that the path for his future career was laid out.
And today he has come full circle, helping tutor the next generation through his lecturing work at Middlesex University.
He says that those entering the industry “have to enjoy hard work” but it is an exciting time for British animation.
“I think generally it’s a good time ... Ten years ago, with the crash, I would say it was particularly awful.
“Now, even with Brexit, there’s a lot of investment in this country at the moment and it’s going to get better.
“It varies from a couple of people working in a little studio to anything up to 600 people working in more like a factory.”
Mr Hodgson has a few ideas for future projects but said it wasn’t always a good idea to rush into a new production.
“Good ideas don’t just come when you want them. That’s the frustrating thing with being an artist or film director or writer.
“It’s like waiting for buses, you might get three come along at once!”