Film maker from Northwich celebrates premiere of new feature

Nathan Cunningham is still on a high after his debut film “The Piccadilly Rats: Live in Moderation” had its premiere last weekend (July 9).

The film tells the story of an unlikely band that went all the way from the streets of Manchester to the main stage at Kendal Calling where they shared a bill with hometown favourites The Charlatans.

For 44-year-old Nathan, who grew up in the town, before leaving in his 20’s, the film represents his first feature-length foray into the world of cinema, with hopes it will get picked up by a distributer soon.

“The band are a gaggle of old misfits,” he said.

“They’re all of a certain age and both of the dancers were in their 70’s, although Tommy is now 80.

“It’s basically a bit of street theatre, but they do scratchy little rock and roll covers and they’re just a mad, fun, little outfit.

“The premiere went amazing because the band are kind of like folk heroes in this neck of the woods."

The premiere of the film was sold out

The premiere took place at the Home Theatre and proved to be so popular, soon sold out and had to move to one of the venues larger rooms. The film itself is something of a labour love for Nathan as it has taken him four years to put it all together.

“It’s a heartfelt film, because although it’s laugh out loud, it’s also emotional in places” he said.

“It touched a lot of people, and we even got a standing ovation at the end of the film.

“I’ve messed about with film for many years, but this is my very first feature.”

The Piccadilly Rats have a cult following in Manchester

Part of that “messing about” included launching his own film company called Gritish Films with the help of former Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones (Les Battersby). But it is under the guise of a new solo project called ‘The Low Flying Geese’ that led him to the here and now.

“We’re going to spend the next few months doing the film festival circuit to get it out to a wider audience,” he added.

“And then from there it’s a case of trying to pick up a distributer for it.

“It would be ace if I could come back and show it in Northwich.

“I’ve still got a large brotherhood in the town and a lot of them came over for the premiere.”