CULTURE
L
E I
F
B
L
I M the Dieciminuti Film Festival. Bev, S C E C C
Muck is the story of Babs: a mother to an autistic son and the wife to a jealous husband. Set on a isolated sheep farm in Yorkshire in the 1950s, Muck follows two life changing days in the lives of Babs and her family. Shot in the summer of 2014 at Balladoole Farm, Cregneash and Brandywell, Bev assembled a crew of film industry professionals working alongside trainees from the Mannin Shorts training scheme. Director Sonya Quayle cast Sian Reeves (Cutting It, Emmerdale) as Babs, James Northcote (The Imitation Game, Wuthering Heights, Nymphomaniac) as Billy her autistic son, and Mark Sheals (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Shameless) as Murray, her impatient husband. “We were so delighted to have a script and team that was capable of attracting such a calibre of actor” explains Bev “the whole film really rides or falls on those performances and each one of them is fantastic. We couldn’t be happier”. BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS
To create the world of 1950s Yorkshire, Bev called on the skills of production designer Anisha Fields whom she’d previously worked with on her educational short film ‘Ben’. Working closely with Sonya, they created a world for the characters to inhabit. “It was obvious to me that although the family home in Muck is not a wealthy one, there is a real warmth of spirit about it.” Sonya explains “It was important to me that Babs had made a beautiful home for her family in what is a pretty unforgiving landscape”
THIS IS THE SIXTH AWARD WE’VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR SO IT’S REALLY WONDERFUL TO BE BRINGING HOME THE BACON
The shoot challenged the filmmakers on many levels, “We had a pig, a flock of sheep, and even a goldfish to contend with” says cinematographer John Craine, “Also we had to try and make it look like the middle of winter. We shot in July which was a bit of a problem on one day when we had bright sunshine but we were able to keep the location, a pigsty, in shade that day. Luckily Mannanin didn’t let us down and we got mist very early one morning and managed to shoot the scenes on the moors then.” Along with Mannin Shorts, the film was funded by local individuals and businesses whom the filmmakers would like to take this opportunity to thank, especially John Hall, Kath & Ian Lowey, David McKinley, Aon, Abbey Dental, Blackford & Co, Culinary Liberation Event Hire, Isle of Man Steam Packet, Tower Insurance, Manx National Heritage and Window World.
“This is the sixth award we’ve been nominated for so it’s really wonderful to be bringing home the bacon” Bev added, smiling wryly. Anyone interested in being a trainee on a film set or developing their skills at one of their many workshops should contact Mannin Shorts on nadine@ isleofmanfilmfestival.com Bev is currently in pre-production on a new short film, Jean, with many of the same team that she assembled for Muck. Written by Sonya Quayle, Jean is the story of an elderly woman who finds herself alone at Christmas. “Filming Jean should be a breeze after Muck” laughs Bev, “It’s all interiors and there isn’t an animal in sight!” They hope to start shooting in April 2016.
2727