About

Grasp the Nettle Films was formed in 2015 as a collaboration between Producer Rebecca Wolff and Writer/Director Dean Puckett.

REBECCA WOLFF – Producer.

Rebecca Wolff became an independent producer after working as Head of Development at BAFTA-award winning production company The Producers. She runs Grasp the Nettle Films, a CE50 company (Creative England’s award to the top 50 creative companies in the UK), specialising in genre films and documentaries. She has produced many short films funded by BFI Network, Creative England, The Guardian and other schemes, developing regional and diverse talent relationships. The shorts have received international acclaim on the festival circuit, screening at festivals such as Sundance London, SXSW, BFI London Film Festival and Sitges. She has strong talent and financier relationships and is working on a slate of feature and documentary projects including her debut fiction feature as a lead producer alongside Jude Goldrei, THE SEVERED SUN written and directed by Dean Puckett and funded by Screen Cornwall, Onsight and HH5. Its world premiere is set for Autumn 2024 with a US release set for Q1 2025. She has also produced her debut feature documentary this past year GRAND THEFT HAMLET alongside fellow producer Julia Ton, which premiered at SXSW March 2024 and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature. It is now enjoying a strong festival run and is represented by Altitude Films. She is in post on another feature documentary funded by BFI Doc Society and Screen Scotland, represented by Autlook Films for sales with Asif Kapadia on board as EP. With Grasp The Nettle Films she is developing a strong slate of projects both in the genre and documentary space.

DEAN PUCKETT – Writer/ Director. 

Dean Puckett is an English filmmaker and director working primarily in horror and genre cinema. His work focuses on atmosphere-driven storytelling, often drawing on elements of folk horror and the uncanny. He has directed a number of acclaimed short films, including The Sermon (2017), which screened internationally and received strong recognition on the festival circuit. His short-form work has played at major festivals such as Sitges, FrightFest, Overlook, Palm Springs ShortFest, HollyShorts, and Encounters, helping establish him as a distinctive voice in contemporary British horror.

In 2024, Dean made his feature debut with The Severed Sun, a folk horror feature developed with backing from BFI, BBC Film, and Creative England. Following its premiere at Fantastic Fest, the film was released by Dark Sky Films, with Blue Finch handling UK, Ireland, and ANZ distribution, received a limited UK cinema run, and launched on Shudder in January 2026. Alongside his directing work, Dean is a co-founder of the production company Grasp The Nettle, which he founded with award-winning producer Rebecca Wolff. The company develops and produces work across both documentary and fiction, with a focus on distinctive, filmmaker-led projects.

Dean is represented by Patrick Child at Independent Talent.

patrickchild@independenttalent.com