Owed money will be paid when Mull movie reels in sales, says film boss

An eerie movie shot on Mull makes it to cinema screens this November - despite some of the crew still waiting for wages.

 

Film boss Karim Tshibangu, who is behind elevated horror thriller, Shepherd, this week said he would pay out 'whatever is outstanding' once the film's sales agents paid him.

 

Mr Tshibangu already apologised in The Oban Times  in 2019 for unpaid wages - among those waiting at that time were a number of islanders and businesses.

 

Some of the extras, location assistants and bills were paid what they were owed and others received part of their money at the time, but there were still some who received no wages at all.

 

"attachment_528736" "" "300"] Running from grief after the mysterious death of his wife, Eric Black, played by Tom Hughes, takes a job as a shepherd - trapped alone on a majestic weather-beaten island with an ominous secret. Photograph: Strike Media Ltd

 

"attachment_528745" "" "225"] Peaky Blinders and Games of Thrones actress Kate Dickie is one of the film's big names. Photograph: Strike Media Ltd

 

"attachment_528748" "" "300"] Greta Scacchi also stars in Shepherd, which is out in cinemas on November 5, 2021. Photograph: Strike Media Ltd

 

One Mull man who worked on the shoot said the film's release date was certainly news to him and he suspected to 'everyone else concerned' on the island, adding that as far as he knew 'nobody has been paid a penny since' the last Oban Times story.

 

It was previously claimed online that Mr Tshibangu's production company Castle Valley Films owed in excess of £10,000 on Mull alone.

 

The wrangle started when an unhappy film crew took raw footage and camera equipment hostage on the last day of the eight-week shoot that included a £250,000 fake cottage being built - then dismantled. The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU)  got involved.

 

When The Oban Times asked Mr Tshibangu this week if wages and bills had since been settled on the island for the film extras and services supplied locally, he replied: 'There’s an agreement with the crew that, now that the film is with sales agents, as soon as they pay me I pay the crew whatever is outstanding, they all know and agree with that.'

 

Shepherd weaves a nerve-jangling tale about a distraught widower who moves to a remote island to start a new life looking after sheep, but when strange things start happening to him he is unsure whether his mind is playing tricks or if they are real. Award-winning actors Greta Scacchi and Game of Thrones's Kate Dickie are big names in the cast.

 

Speaking about the film, writer and director Russell Owen said: 'Shepherd has been a labour of love and many years in the making. I'm extremely thrilled audiences will be able to experience it where it was designed for - the Big Screen.'

 

Mr Tshibangu said: 'I'm very excited to have gotten to this point considering all the difficulties in completing the film.'

 

He also said he would be happy to screen the film on Mull and Oban.