Dobberan son Çhengey Ny Mayrey is a short film based on a Manx language poem written around
1840 by William Kinnish.

‘Dobberan son Çhengey Ny Mayrey Ellan Vannin’, which translates to ‘Mourning over the Mother Tongue of Mann’ tells the story of a man who, while wandering the hills in the twilight hours,
comes across a frenzied old woman in tattered clothes. She reveals she is the ghost of the Manx language; now abandoned by the Manx people, she was once young and never wanting. The English and the rich, making way for her neglect, she laments for the days she ruled over Mann. Finally, with her age, she surrenders, “For behold how grey my head is” (Moore, 1896, p.142).

I have adapted this poem into a short film because its words provide really clear, interesting imagery while also leaving
so much room for visual and sonic exploration. Originally a twenty-one stanza poem, I have condensed the poem into seven stanzas, which I felt still communicated the story.