A FILM shot entirely in the Isle of Man had its nationwide release in October.
Albatross, which was filmed in the Island in 2009, was released by CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film.
Described as a funny and moving coming of age story the film stars Sebastian Koch (The Lives of Others), Felicity Jones (Cemetery Junction) and Julia Ormond (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).
It also stars Jessica Brown-Findlay who appears in the popular ITV drama series Downton Abbey and who was selected for Screen International's prestigious UK Stars of Tomorrow 2011 list.
Speaking about the Isle of Man on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show Jessica said: "It was stunning. The countryside out there is amazing and we had, despite filming in November and December, some wonderfully sunny days. It's freezing but glorious.
"I adored every 4am wake up and was sort of bounding on set at 5.45am in the morning! I just adored it. It was a dream role and I fell in love with it from day one."
Albatross was directed by BAFTA nominated Niall MacCormick and produced by Adrian Sturges.
The film showcases the Isle of Man in a spectacular light doing justice to some of its most picturesque locations including Niarbyl, the Point of Ayre, Port Erin and Port St Mary.
Peel and Castletown are real focal points of the film, as the Island doubles up for a town on the south coast of England, with much of the action centered around these locations.
The film tells the story of 17 year old Emelia (Brown-Findlay) who starts a new job at The Cliff House, a small hotel on the south coast of England, which is run by the Fischer family - Dad Jonathan (Koch), an author with writer's block, his frustrated wife Joa (Ormond) and their 17 year old daughter Beth (Jones).
Sensible Beth becomes friends with aspiring writer and rebel Emelia and soon finds herself in trouble. She's not the only Fischer led astray by the free-spirit – Jonathan sees promise in Emelia but their relationship quickly crosses the pupil-teacher line and they embark on a love affair.
Secrets are revealed and relationships implode in the film which is littered with laugh out loud moments whilst retaining a touching story of each characters battle to prove themselves and get rid of the albatross – a constant and inescapable burden - that plagues them.
Reviews for the film have been positive with Front Row Reviews describing it as "a beautifully observed coming of age story that is sure to produce laughter and tears in equal measure" and Company magazine describing it as a "seriously witty Brit flick".
The film was screened at the Broadway Cinema in Douglas.
This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.
