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Words | Rachel Green
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itch hunts, burning stakes and medieval Mann… who wouldn’t be fascinated by the Island’s latest film offering Solace in Wicca. Rachel Green caught up with the creator to discover the grizzly details… The first thing Nathan Russell-Raby ever saved up for was a Spielberg Lego Film Making Kit and at the tender age of eight, he began his debut film with a “really bad quality webcam.” The stock motion extravaganza ‘Indiana Jones and the Colby Sword’ sadly came to a swift end when he filled his hard drive. Fast forward eleven years, via a few Young Filmmaker of Mann awards, a werewolf film with blood and guts made from peaches and food colouring and one or two “terrible” script ideas, to Solace in Wicca. The one about the woman being burned at the stake is his creation and the first film to have been shot entirely in the Manx language. Credit where it’s due – Nathan got the idea from his Mum. She had been on the Castle Rushen Ghost Walk and relayed the gruesome tale to Nathan. Intrigued by reports that you could “hear her screams from Malew” he began to research the true story of Margaret Inequane - the only woman burned at the stake on the Isle of because quality matters
Man. The scene of the gruesome murder was Castletown Square, the year 1617.
“and potentially there will be a premiere on the Island.”
His first stop for research was the Manx Museum, but the stumbling block was that all the relevant records are in a language written purely for the church at the time. So he pieced together a plot from history books, other similar tales and added a dash of artistic license.
I ask Nathan what hopes they have for the film...
Once the fifteen minute script was written, he approached Andy North – Lecturer of Film and Digital Media at the IOM College and Chester University, and asked him to direct. Andy agreed.
He believed in the project and wanted to
“Create the most cinematic film possible…with visual metaphors for spirituality…” Together they re-drafted the script until it worked. Funding was the next step, so they approached The Manx Heritage Foundation and Cinema NX who agreed to finance and produce the film. Then, Manx National Heritage very generously allowed the crew to use Castle Rushen and Cregneash for four days. “We really can’t thank them enough!”, said Nathan.
“Andy wants to make people cry… and I think we’ll be able to do it, if we get the acting just right… we have a really talented crew… people have been amazing…. working really hard to make the best short film we can. I want the film to be entertaining and to move people emotionally. And for me, it’s the start of my career - a credit that people recognise as being good.” And as I watch Nathan go to lug peasant costumes off the ferry, I can’t help but believe that this really is the start of his career. At just nineteen, he has a rare mix of humility and quiet confidence. He is definitely one to watch.
So, casting followed and incredibly, some of the leads were already fluent Manx speakers. For we lesser mortals, the film will have subtitles. So with filming now over and Nathan in the editing process, what’s next for Solace in Wicca? “It’s due to be ready around September,’ said Nathan,
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