Woman spotted man's hidden talent and came up with ingenious idea

A woman spotted a special talent and knew what to do next.

Melanie Manchot, 57, is a filmmaker and artist. For over a decade now, she has been working on the subject of addiction and recovery. It was here she developed a friendship with Stephen Giddings, who grew up in Kirkby.

Stephen was confronted with addiction from an early age, both in the lives of those around him, and eventually in his own. While working together, Melanie noticed something about Stepehen.

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Speaking to the ECHO, she said: “I’ve been working with Stephen for a number of years. We discovered he had a talent for acting. When the camera was on, another Stephen Giddings emerged.”

Melanie, who lives in London and is originally from Germany, began working with Stephen on a new film and art installation, learning from experts and people in addiction and recovery to showcase addiction in a different light. She said: “We wanted to use visual art to explore addiction that avoids the usual pitfalls. Addiction is either glamorised or shown as a villain who succumbs to addiction, as a sign of having weak spirit. But addiction is not like that - it’s far more complex.”

Melanie wanted to set the film in Liverpool, and came across a piece from 1901 called Arrest of Goudie. It is the first film filmed in Liverpool and is also the first film ever to reconstruct a crime. It recreates the arrest of Thomas Goudie, a bank employee who embezzled £170,000 to pay gambling debts.

Melanie said: “I pitched the idea to Stephen of using the story of Thomas Goudie to explore his own story.”

The result is a “genre bending” piece