In the latest Digital Matters series of articles, Richard Arning writes about many Manx productions that can be found on demand.

From the new generation of superstars such as Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, to the old guard of Maggie Smith and John Malkovich, the Isle of Man has attracted many British and international actors since the nineties.

And some Manx talent has emerged internationally, such as Samantha Barks on Broadway and Amy Jackson in Bollywood.

While the island’s strategy for the local media industry in broadcast, film and video has made a complete U-turn, from a former film shooting location for one-off film projects, towards becoming a base for media companies to locate their business, we can now enjoy some Manx-made movies through video on demand services.

Interestingly for the UK and the Isle of Man, all feature films are streamed on Amazon with one exception being available on Netflix as well.

If you spot that we have overlooked a movie, or if the streaming platforms permanently update their video library, please contact us at [email protected].

Go on and spot a bit of home on your next movie night!

Mindhorn 2016

A tongue in cheek look at life, culture and policing in the Isle of Man through the eyes of has-been actor Richard Thorncroft. Made famous in the 1980s series for his role as Mindhorn, suave detective with a robotic lie detector eye, Richard’s career and notoriety has all but disappeared.

Take Down 2014

British thriller filmed largely in the Isle of Man starring Jeremy Sumpter, Phoebe Tonkin and Ed Westwick.

Spooks: The Greater Good 2014

When a high profile terrorist escapes during what should be a routine handover, Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), head of counter-terrorism for MI5 is blamed.

The Christmas Candle 2013

A heartwarming tale of triumph over turbulence when the modern world, in the form of David Richmond, a young forward thinking minister, meets the traditional old world village of Gladbury. Isle of Man born and bred multi-talent, Samantha Barks also stars. Samantha is currently playing Vivian in the Broadway adaptation of Pretty Woman.

Camera Trap 2013

A British film crew travel to a remote area of Central Asia intent on capturing what they think is a leopard attacking the local wildlife. What they find is much more terrifying.

Robot Overlords 2013

Robots have taken over earth in this children’s Sci-Fi adventure. Starring Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson.

Dom Hemingway 2012

A British gangster thriller with a good dose of comedy, profanity and a side of violence. Dom (Jude Law), a career safe cracker, has been imprisoned for 12 years. Newly released, he sets out to collect on the debt he is owed for his silence and to seek an ultimate retribution.

Belle 2012

Belle is the story of a mixed-race girl raised in aristocratic England in the 18th century. It focuses onher relationship with a young, promising lawyer and examines the matters of race, class, politics and the struggle for equality of the era. Directed by Amma Asante, this film is one of the three movies which broke even in its return on investment by the former Isle of Man Media Fund. This film is also available to stream on Netflix.

Ashes 2011

A gripping tale of two men reconnecting. Frank Barron, once hard man, is locked away in a care home with memory loss due to Alzheimer’s when he receives a visit from his estranged son, James.

The Shadow Line 2010

A BBC police detective mini-series.

Chico and Rita 2009

Winner of a Goya Award for Best Animated Film and nominee for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, this film is well worth the watch.

The Disappearance of

Alice Creed 2009

Two ex-convicts meticulously plan the kidnapping of Alice Creed, millionaire daughter, played by Gemma Arterton. During her abduction, an entangled connection between the three is revealed, throwing all plans into chaos.

Me and Orson Welles 2008

Listed in the top ten independent films of the year by the National Board of Review, ’Me and Orson Welles’ tells the tale of young Richard, played by Zac Efron, luckily assigned a part in the Broadway production of Julius Caesar after a chance meeting with Orson Welles.

The Cottage 2007

Two inexperienced criminals seek to make some quick money, kidnapping Tracey, daughter of an underlord crime boss and holding her for ransom at the cottage. While her father organises two hitmen to follow her brother along with the ransom, there’s another player about to enter. A psychopathic farmer. The real terror is about to start.

The Walker 2006

Carter Page III (Woody Harrelson) plays a high society ’walker’, paid to escort the wives of rich politicians to social events in this American-British drama. An A-lister cast with Lauren Bacall, Moritz Bleibtreu and Willem Dafoe.

Miss Potter 2006

Renée Zellweger portrays Beatrix Potter in this biographical drama of the author of the bestselling children’s book series, Peter Rabbit.

Fade to Black 2005

Famous actor Orson Welles, moves to Italy to film the movie ’Black Magic’ after his marriage to Rita Hayworth falls apart. There, he falls in love with a promising young actress on the set.

Severance 2005

This British-German horror/dark comedy begins with what is sure to be a boring team building weekend at a remote rundown forest lodge. It soon takes a turn for the worse.

Revolver 2005

Conman and gambling shark, Jake Green, takes revenge for his recent jail time by beating and humiliating crime boss Macha in a game of chance.

Chromophobia 2004

A drama starring Penelope Cruz, Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in which a wealthy, privileged family falls apart under the changing values of modern London society.

Five Children and IT 2003

Five children are sent away to live with their odd uncle by the seaside while their father is at war and their mother is nursing the injured. Cast includes Kenneth Brannagh and former child star, Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

The Boys and Girl from County Clare 2002

Two estranged brothers find themselves competing against one another at the finals of the All Ireland Ceili band competition in County Claire in this Irish comedy drama.

Blackball 2002

Ray Speight, time honoured British lawn bowls champion, is forced to pair up with his nemesis ’Bad Boy of Bowls’ Cliff Starkey to compete in the World Lawn Bowls Championship.

I Capture the Castle 2001

A classic English novel come film told through the eyes of teenage heroine, Cassandra Mortmain.

Me Without You 2000

This is the tale of the toxic friendship of two girls Natalie, unpredictable and unstable, and Holly, overprotected and reserved, over the 1970s and 80s. The girls grow up together, experiencing all that life across the decades has to offer and the ever present obstacle of Holly falling in love with Natalie’s brother.

Relative Values 1999

In this star studded comedy featuring Julie Andrews, William Baldwin, Stephen Fry and Colin Firth, a man brings home his new fiancé, much to his mother’s, the Countess of Marshwood’s disproval, only to discover his new fiancé is also the estranged sister of the family maid.

Thomas and the Magic Railroad 1999

A child fantasy feature length film, starring Thomas the Tank Engine and Alec Baldwin as Mr Conductor.

Dreaming Of Joseph Lees 1999

Young, starry-eyed, Eva is trapped in her small village life in 1958,England.

Waking Ned 1997

Ned Devine wins the Irish lottery but immediately dies of shock. Jackie O’Shea and Michael O’Sullivan devise a plan full of mischief, impersonation and mishaps to claim the money before the lottery officials learn the truth.

Walks Around Britain

Andrew White and the team from Walks Around Britain highlight some amazing and often lesser travelled walks right here in our own backyard.

TT, several titles

The world’s oldest, most famous and notoriously dangerous road race, the Isle of Man TT, features in several titles on Amazon. Just search for TT!

So, the final question is, will we see such an array of international mega stars filming on the Isle of Man in the future?

The last project of this film focused era, number 107, Where Hands Touch is directed by Bafta award winning, Amma Asante and will hit the UK box office this May. It won’t be the last movie produced on the Island, but new films, video or TV productions will meet different objectives going forward.

By all the controversy of the political debate about the true economic value of the former film sector versus the investments made, we have inherited a whole ecosystem with creative talent, infrastructure, education and training.

This is a tremendous asset and we should leverage in the best possible way on this.

On this foundation, we are now building a new and sustainable digital media sector, by attracting production, post-production, distribution, video and broadcast technology companies, consultancies and service providers rather than one off-film production projects.

The creative industries are the fastest growing sectors in the UK.

We want to participate where it plays to the strength of the Isle of Man and for this we have gathered the wider island’s industry support.

Isle of Media is a two-year-old, not-for-profit, industry driven partnership with the Isle of Man Government set up to achieve this.

The author, Richard Arning, is vice president business development and director of SES Satellite Leasing, the Isle of Man based entrepreneurial investment arm of SES Satellites. As chairman and representative of @IsleofMedia he is a non-executive board member of the Digital Executive Agency. Richard is a graduate of RWTH Aachen University in Germany with a doctorate degree in aerospace. He is a director of MICTA and the Leeds and Manchester based business angel network @NorthInvestUK