Dan Charles is an actor, director and producer from Barrow and was inspired to focus on the soft drink after conversations with those close to him.
“It came from just chatting to old friends and family members and just people in Barrow,” said Mr Charles.
“It just seems to be that this drink and everything around it always seems to pop up and the nice memories of it.
“It always goes to ‘I wonder if anyone could ever bring it back’ or why it died out, or ‘what was in that secret recipe, why did it taste so good?’.
“I just thought, well let’s go on a little mission and try to answer some of those questions.”
As most people in Barrow and the Furness area are aware, Marsh’s Sass was a soft drink made and sold in Barrow that has since been discontinued.
Now all that is left of the drink are fond memories from those who tasted it and memorabilia.
Mr Charles has been interviewing Barrow residents for the documentary about Marsh’s Sass (Image: Dan Charles)
The project was commissioned with a £4,000 grant from Barrow Town Council and is Mr Charles’ first professional project in his hometown.
Mr Charles said: “It’s amazing because I’m very proud to be from Barrow to be honest.
“There’s a lot of negativity around the town sometimes, mainly from people who don’t know too much about it.
“I want to show Barrow in the best possible light.
“This story about the drink and the town – it’s an amazing story of entrepreneurship and growing something from nothing into a really famous brand.
“Everybody loved it, everybody wanted it, everybody talked about it.
“That little thing alone is something we should all be really proud of, that we can create things like that from Barrow and in Barrow.
“It’s really great that I can this film for the town.”
Mr Charles has been out and about in Barrow these past few months interviewing residents for the documentary.
Anyone with a story about Marsh’s Sass was invited to be a part of the film (Image: Dan Charles)
“Going on this journey to speak to the people that created the drink and worked in the factory or just loved drinking it – everyone’s got the really beautiful memories of everything that comes with that,” said Mr Charles.
“You never know what will come up when you have these conversations.
“You think you’re going to find out one thing and you go in a totally different tangent about something else.
“You find out all these great things and stories, I’ve loved that.”
The film was commissioned by Barrow Town Council (Image: Dan Charles)
The trailer for the documentary released in February and has since had more than 70,000 views.
That is more than the entire population of Barrow itself.
Mr Charles said: “I didn’t realise the response it was going to get online.
“The first time I said I was going to do the film, I think it got about two or three hundred comments.
“People really cared about this drink, so that really surprised me and I loved that.”
The online response could indicate a wider interest from people who are not from Barrow.
“The core point is that this is a Barrow memory, but it’s got a bigger purpose than that,” said Mr Charles.
“I want people from outside of Barrow to say ‘what a great place it was when this drink was there’.”
“It still is can can be – it’s about people at the end of the day and their connections with family and friends.
“It’s a love letter to Barrow but I want people from everywhere to relate to that because I think everyone’s probably got that feeling about where they’re from.”
The film is described by Mr Charles as a ‘love letter to Barrow’ (Image: Dan Charles)
The documentary is in the final stages of filming and Mr Charles would like anyone who wants to get involved to get in touch with him.
Marsh’s Sass: A Barrow Story will be screened in the summer and Mr Charles is hoping that the documentary will be screened in film festivals.
The initial screening will be in Barrow though the exact location and time has not been finalised yet.
The film will eventually be made available online.
Conversations are ongoing about a temporary exhibit in Barrow where the film will be displayed alongside Marsh’s memorabilia.