Critic praises Island's film culture

Mark Kermode was speaking at the sixth Isle of Man Film Festival

A film critic hopes the Island's film culture can inspire more locals to get involved in the industry.

Mark Kermode was speaking at the closing party of the sixth Isle of Man Film Festival yesterday (Sunday).

The event provided the first ever Manx winner of the Best of the Festival award as Ben Desmond's production Pitfall scooped the accolade.

The Isle of Man is also the location for Mindhorn - a comedy starring Julian Barratt - which was released on DVD last week.

Mr Kermode is convinced growing up in the Island and being surrounded by film and TV projects is rubbing off on people.

He says more Islanders are catching what he describes as the 'film bug'.