Busy Mark Scrimshaw runs a design agency promoting businesses operating from the island, but has himself just returned from America where he oversaw the production of a short film he scripted.

Mark, 45, described the experience in Portland, Oregon, as ‘surreal’ and an ‘unforgettable experience’ and said it was incredible watching his long held ambitions coming to fruition.

He also proudly told how he was able to fly the Isle of Man flag to promote the island during his time in the States and how he hopes there might be the potential for a follow-up feature film.

And if it does happen he would be keen to ensure the follow-up is filmed partly in the island.

Mark runs his own successful creative and graphic design agency business called The Thought Store from his studio within the family home in the shadow of Rushen Abbey.

But he has also harboured ambitions of progressing his screenwriting and music composition passions, having worked when opportunities arose over the last 10 years in film production and scriptwriting to craft his trade.

Sitting in his home office Mark, who is married to Paragon Recruitment director Debbie, told Business News of the remarkable story.

Film director and producer, Devin Tau, whose production company, No Sunrise Wasted, operates from Oregon, approached Mark having selected his screenplay through a writers’ website called Inktip.com from 20 scripts sourced and shortlisted by a professional script researcher. Following an intense four-month script development period, Mark was also involved in casting decisions before flying out.

The short film is now in post-production and due to premiere in Portland in June before being taken to several key film festivals around the United States and globally.

In addition to writing the screenplay, Mark was invited to compose music for the film. Mark sat at his piano in his specially fitted out design studio to give Business News a sneak preview of the stirring music for the film.

Mark is also using his creative ‘day job’ skills via his business The Thought Store to produce the professional promotional material including motion graphics, online media and print material.

Mark said: ‘I was delighted to be invited out to the United States and was on set for the entire shoot over a week.

‘The attention to detail and level of production was at times breathtaking and it was a superb opportunity to network and meet the cast and crew, many of whom had worked and appeared on the award winning television series, Grimm.

‘The lead actor Greg James also appeared in ‘Wild’ in which Reese Witherspoon was nominated for an Oscar. Short films, as seen at the recent Oscars, have grown rapidly in popularity and recognition, with many seasoned directors producing shorts of exceptional quality, viewed as a high calibre industry promotional tool.

’All very surreal and an incredible experience from start to finish’.

The short film is called Malignant and details are starting to emerge on the film database website IMDb

Mark told Business News: ‘Malignant is in complete contrast to the comedy material I usually write, it’s a hard hitting psychological horror and the challenge is to now develop the feature with a twisting supernatural edge that deceives at every opportunity.

‘While in Portland, I had several opportunities to promote the attractive and credible options for filming here in the Isle of Man.

‘I’m very proud of where I’m from and that also reflects in the work I do promoting Manx businesses with The Thought Store.’

Mark grew up in Castletown and was educated at Castle Rushen High School.

Even though he says his business operates ‘under the radar’ Mark is very busy. He told Business News his clients both in the island and from further afield have come from personal referrals and word of mouth, and he is lucky to work with a number of businesses who actively engage multi media marketing creativity as part of their overall business strategy.

Branding expert Mark is now busy writing the full feature screenplay. Mark regularly receives enquiries from students asking about options to break into the creative industry – he hopes his success inspires others to stay motivated and to understand the importance of creating your own opportunities to achieve goals.

Filming took place in Portland, which Mark said has recently been voted one of the most popular places in America for making movies.

The top two floors of a block of luxury apartments were also taken over for filming of the short film.

‘Everyone was fascinated to hear about the Isle of Man. It was a great experience to be flying the flag for the island during my week there,’ said Mark.

The IMDb film website gives a hint to the plot line in this way: ‘At a hotel for the super-elite, Scott’s 30 year wait to confront the ghost of his childhood pushes his sanity to the edge, provoking a drastic course of action with profound consequences.’