Belle: Isle of Man period drama set for cinema release

Government officials said the three-week shoot brought in about £1m for the island's economy

A period drama filmed on location in the Isle of Man last September will be released in UK and US cinemas in Spring 2014, Isle of Man Film has confirmed.

Belle is a romantic drama inspired by a 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed-race girl raised as an aristocrat in the 18th Century.

Following a three-week shoot on the island, the crew moved to Oxford and London to complete production.

Gugu Mbatha, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson and Emily Watson all star.

A number of locations were used and despite some initial reservations producer Damian Jones said he discovered several "perfect" locations for the movie on the Isle of Man.

"The island provided everything we needed - even two days of abysmal weather worked quite well for the scenes we were shooting.

'Jane Austen-esque'

"It is a wonderful resonant story - sort of Jane Austen-esque with a twist," he added.

Isle of Man Film's Mike Reaney said: "It is a beautiful, engaging film which we're very proud of. We hope it receives the audience it deserves."

It is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved African girl called Bell, who was born in 1761.

Many of the scenes were shot in the south of the island at locations including Castletown harbour, the dungeons at Castle Rushen, and Billown Mansions near Malew.

Government officials said the three-week shoot brought in the region of £1m to the Manx economy.

The project was the first since the Manx parliament approved a multi-million pound investment in Pinewood Studios.

The deal involves the Isle of Man investing more than £12m for a 10% stake in the 75-year-old studios.

Since Belle was filmed four further productions have been filmed in the island including the , staring Susan Boyle and Samantha Barks and Our Robot Overlords, which started filming this week.