|
ISLAND STORIES:
ISLE OF MAN
The Gathering
|
“I wanted the audience to relate to the situations the characters were in,” adds Jones, “so we decided we’d play for a very real look. ‘Real’ meant tiny little cottages and tiny little bars, which tend to be very dark and moody, with small windows. And when you’re in very enclosed situations, you have more of an opportunity to develop an interesting frame. Then, as soon as you step outside, you have these incredible landscapes and seascapes. Also, we were blessed with amazing weather on the shoot.”
All the Little Animals
|
He could, in retrospect, have been writing a blurb for the IOMFC, which has since gone from strength to strength, enthusiastically supported by the late Sir Sydney Samuelson, head of the British Film Commission, whose producer son, Marc, has already shot two films on the island (the most recent being the Christina Ricci horror movie, The Gathering). Samuelson currently has a development deal with the IOMFC, specifically looking for projects that would benefit from shooting there. Other productions to film on ‘The Rock’ (see full list, right) have come from the UK, Europe and the US.
Dreaming of Joseph Lees.
|
“Sydney was always a huge supporter of what we were doing,” says Hilary Dugdale, development manager for film and media at the IOM Department of Trade and Industry, “but now we’re moving onto a different level. This is Phase 3 of the development of the industry on the island. We want to attract more television and bigger-budget movies. And we need to improve the infrastructure to keep up with the needs of the industry.”
The Gathering star
Christina Ricci
|
Part of this is the building of a £1.7-million studio at Ramsey on the northern tip of the island which, says Dugdale, will be open for business this summer. But the most important part of Phase 3 has been the recent (April) announcement of a £25-million ($36-million) Media Development Fund, which should prove a powerful magnet for producers from the UK, Europe and beyond, as well as generate even more employment possibilities than the first two Phases have brought.
Indeed, as Marc Samuelson has summed it up, “you have to have really good reasons not to shoot on the Isle of Man”.
|
