The script for The Salt Path evolved slowly over a few years, with director Marianne Elliott and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz collaborating on the script together, both taking the time to walk the path separately and meet with Ray and Moth together. ‘It always felt like a joint project between Elizabeth, Rebecca and me as we were trying to grow this thing for a completely new medium. We were trying to give it a different voice in a different medium, in a different way,’ says Elliott.

The Salt Path is the profound true story of husband and wife, Raynor and Moth Winn’s 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline. After being forcibly removed from their home, they make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace and a sense of acceptance. With depleted resources, only a tent and some essentials between them, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination. It’s a portrayal of home, how it can be lost and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.

Producer Lloyd Levin recalls reading The Salt Path when it was first published. He and Beatriz, his wife and producing partner were both deeply moved by its story of resiliency and personal growth in the face of many adversities: ‘It immediately struck us as something that had the potential to be very cinematic, particularly if the film could convey the raw power and beauty of nature as Ray so exquisitely wrote and
captured it in her memoir.’

The extreme hardships that Ray and Moth faced, both in financial and medical terms are very relatable. This is why Lloyd believed the book connected with so many people, ‘They never gave up or lost hope (or their sense of humour!) They faced adversity and triumphed over it, literally and metaphorically by reconnecting with nature and simply putting one foot in front of the other, which for readers – and
moviegoers – is at once pragmatic and inspiring’ Lloyd remarks.

Lloyd decided to reach out to Ray directly. She recalls receiving a social media message from Lloyd explaining that the book had resonated with him so profoundly that he wanted the opportunity to make it into a film. Ray was walking on the Coast Path with her dog at the time, ‘I sat on a bench for a while, near a spot where we’d camped when we were walking, and watched the tide come in. I couldn’t
comprehend what was happening, it seemed completely surreal.’

---

---

For acclaimed Olivier and Tony award winning theatre director Marianne Elliott, the only woman to have won three Tony Awards for Best Direction (Company, Angels in America, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and recipient of an OBE in 2018, the step towards the medium of film was one she had wanted to make for a long time. When the pandemic struck, she decided that it was finally time. With theatres closed, Marianne worried that they may never open again.

Producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley explained that they had wanted to collaborate with Marianne for many years. As Elizabeth states: ‘I admired her. I’d seen a lot of her theatre work and thought that she was such an incredible talent.

’Elizabeth also recalls going to an event and running into Tony Kushner, acclaimed writer of Angels in America, who told Elizabeth: ‘Of all the theatre directors, I think Marianne will make a great film director because she’s so profoundly visual.’

They got in contact with Marianne and were delighted to hear that she wanted to make the leap over to the film. Marianne suggested that they read The Salt Path and that was where their journey with the project began. They tracked down the rights to the film, which led them to Lloyd and Beatriz Levin who agreed to join forces on the project.

The next step for them was to find the best person to adapt the book into a screenplay and for Elizabeth, there was only one woman for the job: Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Having collaborated previously, Elizabeth reached out to her about the project. Rebecca told her she had recently been gifted the book from her mother, who lives in Cornwall, for Christmas. They both took this to be a sign. ‘All the stars aligned, and we were so lucky to have her, she’s a wonderful, lyrical writer,’ commented Elizabeth.

Lloyd commends Rebecca for adapting Ray’s work so excellently: ‘She masterfully crafted characters with real depth, made nature a palpable essence and a character in its own right while skilfully maintaining an undercurrent of social consciousness.’

When Ray heard that Rebecca would be adapting her story, she was delighted as she had been a huge admirer of Rebecca’s writing. ‘I was excited to see how she would interpret my words and make them her own. The final script was beautiful, capturing the essence of the original story while taking it forward on a powerful new journey.’

Elizabeth revealed that when it came to casting the part of Ray, both she and Marianne knew that it had to be Gillian Anderson: ‘She has that steely strength and tenacious quality, but also a vulnerability about her. She’s just a fantastic actor, very professional, very talented and a lot of fun too.’

Gillian Anderson is no stranger to playing real life characters. As she states: ‘I’ve played Margaret Thatcher, and I played Eleanor Roosevelt, and I remember that thirst to spend time in those shoes and figure out what made them tick and their early years and this wasn’t so much that. I realised that it’s really about the journey.’

Gillian met with Ray, she read the book a couple of times and listened to her audiobook. There were a few things that she chose not to do in terms of Ray’s mannerisms, as she explains: ‘It was important for me put together a version that was Ray, but also still me. I didn’t want to get too obsessed with it, as much as anything, it’s about portraying the story and their circumstances.’

For Jason Isaacs, the Moth to Gillian’s Ray, he discloses that: ‘All you ever want from acting is that the other person seems like they are who they’re meant to be, and then it’s just easy, and she was Ray to me. She made it easy, because she’s a cracking actress and is unrecognizable from part to part. I don’t know that I ever got to know Gillian. I think I probably got to know Ray with a little sheen of Gillian on her.’

When it came to Jason landing the role of Moth, he believes it was down to him wearing a scarf for the first-time meeting Marianne, which he explains further: ‘Moth always wears a bandana or a scarf. I really wanted the job, so I wore a little coloured scarf inside my shirt, hoping that subliminally, Marianne would see it and believe I was the right person for the job. It’s since become a habit now, and I feel slightly undressed if I’m not wearing a bandana or a scarf.’

While Jason was preparing for the part, he met the real-life Moth and completely fell in love with him. ‘He’s an extraordinary person in so many ways. He’s completely self educated, incredibly humble, and just constantly wanting to learn, listen, be amazed and find wonder in anything anyone has to say around him. I’m madly in love with him. That’s the truth. As is everyone who ever meets him, and he made himself
permanently available to me throughout the process. He has been incredibly generous in opening himself up to me about the things that were most vulnerable and difficult and awkward.’

---

Director Marianne Elliott has directed some of the most celebrated theatrical productions in the West End and on Broadway; WAR HORSE, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, ANGELS IN AMERICA, COMPANY and DEATH OF A SALESMAN. She is the only woman to have won 3 Tony Awards for Best Direction. As Artistic Director of Elliott & Harper Productions, Marianne’s credits include the West End premiere of Mike Bartlett’s play COCK and the award winning revival of Arthur Miller’s DEATH OF A SALESMAN (co-directed with Miranda Cromwell) at the Young Vic Theatre and then the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End, where it won the Olivier Award for Best Director of a Play.

Elliott’s acclaimed 2018 revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s COMPANY originated in the West End at the Gielgud Theatre where it won 4 Olivier Awards (including Best Revival of a Musical) as well as the Evening Standard Award for Best Director of a Musical. Marianne’s first show for Elliott & Harper was the West End premiere of Simon Stephens’ play HEISENBERG at Wyndhams Theatre. Marianne was an Associate Director at the National Theatre for over ten years. Her final production for the NT was her Olivier Award-winning revival of Tony Kushner’s ANGELS IN AMERICA, which subsequently transferred to Broadway, where it won 3 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play. Marianne’s other productions for the National Theatre include WAR HORSE which she co-directed with Tom Morris (West End and Broadway; winner of the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play); THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT- TIME (also
West End and Broadway; Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Director and Best New Play; South Bank Sky Arts Award). Other plays at the National Theatre include HUSBANDS & SONS, RULES FOR LIVING, THE LIGHT PRINCESS, PORT, SEASON’S GREETINGS, WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, MRS AFFLECK, HARPER REGAN, SAINT JOAN (Olivier Award for Best Revival, South Bank Show Award), THÉRÈSE RAQUIN and PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY (Evening Standard Best Director Award). Other theatre includes SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH at the Old Vic starring Kim Cattrall; MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING for the RSC starring Tamsin Greig; and THE LITTLE FOXES at the Donmar Warehouse starring Penelope Wilton. Marianne was an Associate Director at the Royal Court, London, from 2002 – 2006,
and from 1998 – 2002, an Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange in Manchester. In 2020, Marianne directed two episodes of Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS for the BBC, starring Tamsin Greig and Harriet Walter. In 2018, Marianne was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her Services to Theatre.

Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz is an award-winning writer who, in 2008, was the first living female playwright to have her work produced on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre. She co-wrote Academy award-winning feature IDA with Pawel Pawlikowski, COLETTE with Wash Westmoreland, DISOBEDIENCE with Sebastian Lelio and SERVANTS with its director Ivan Ostrochovsky and co-writer Marek Lescak. More recently, she adapted SHE SAID for Plan B and Universal and won the WGA Paul Selvin Award, the Hamilton Behind the Camera Award for Best Screenplay, and was BAFTA nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Rebecca currently has projects in development with Plan B, Element, New Regency and Killer Films, amongst others. She recently shot her directorial debut HOT MILK (based on her own adaptation of the novel by Deborah Levy), for Bonnie Productions, Heretic and Film4, starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez and Patsy Ferran.

---