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Solace in Wicca
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Wikipedia article
'Solace in Wicca' is a 2013 Manx-produced short biographical horror drama film about the 1617 execution of Margaret Quaine and her son Robert, the only executions for witchcraft recorded on the Isle of Man and one of the last witchcraft executions to be sanctioned by the Church of England in the British Isles.
The short film was the first production to be shot entirely in Manx Gaelic, and was financed by Culture Vannin, CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film. It premiered at the Isle of Man Film Festival in September 2013 and was distributed online in November 2017 by Culture Vannin.
Production
The screenplay was one of thirty-two screenplays submitted to the MannIN Shorts Screenplay Contest in January 2011 and was selected as one of three screenplays eligible for a production-budget as part of the MannIN Shorts scheme.
Andy North, lecturer of film and digital media at the Isle of Man College and Chester University, was hired to direct the short film and helped developed the screenplay throughout a six-month period of pre-production. North decided to translate the screenplay's dialogue into the period-accurate Manx Gaelic Language, a decision which attracted the financial support of Culture Vannin.
The opportunity to support emerging talent excited the Isle of Man Government's film investment partner CinemaNX, who co-financed the production with a view to acquiring the rights to an English-language commercial remake. CinemaNX's successor Pinewood Studios optioned the rights and developed the commercial remake as a Halloween origins story in 2013.
Principal photography took place over a five-day period in July 2012, at national heritage sites Castle Rushen, Cregneash Village, and the Niarbyl Fault. Manx National Heritage donated use of their sites without charging a location fee, due to the historical nature of the piece. None of the locations featured in the film were the real-life locations of the 1617 witch-hunt, as they are now too ruined or modern to play themselves in a low-budget period drama.
Experienced non-Manx-speaking actors were cast in the lead roles, and learned their Manx dialogue parrot fashion via a CD recorded by a dialect and language coach. Fluent Manx-Speakers were cast in minor roles.
Reception
Adrian Cain, Manx Language Development Officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation commented that Such a high profile and professional production illustrates what a vibrant position the language finds itself in at present and Gaelic-enthusiasts noted that the filmmaker's decision to shoot in the Manx language marked a huge step forward for a language once considered extinct by UNESCO.
'Solace in Wicca' was the first short film to receive funding support from Isle of Man Film, who have since annually supported talent-development in the craft of film and entrepreneurship by committing funding to micro-budget projects under the banner of the 'MannIN Shorts' scheme.
References
Category:Films about witchcraft
Category:Witchcraft in England
Category:Witch trials in England
Category:Films shot in the Isle of Man
Category:Films set on the Isle of Man
Category:British films based on actual events
Category:Manx Christians
Category:Manx language
Category:Celtic language revival
Category:Isle of Man
Category:Isle of Man articles by quality
Category:2013 horror films
Category:2013 films
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