The Barclays Wealth Isle of Man Film Festival took place over three days in September, featuring the popular outdoor cinema event ‘Under the Stars’, as well as a showcase evening of short films, a competition for the title of Young FilmMaker of Mann and an open competition for Short Films. Barclays Wealth, the UK’s largest wealth manager, was particularly delighted to be involved with the festival as former employee, John Craine, was one of the filmmakers showcasing his work in the open competition for Short Films. John spent two months working for Barclays Wealth in the Isle of Man during his summer vacation from the London Film School. John initially became interested in filmmaking and cinematography in 2004 when he was just about to leave school for university. While at York University, John joined the filmmaking society and the work he undertook allowed him to build up a portfolio to apply to the London Film School, where he was accepted in 2007. At the festival, John showcased two of his films called ‘The Fall of the House of Lawrence’ and ‘My Father’s Trousers’. ‘The Fall of the House of Lawrence’ is a short absurdist piece about a family on Christmas Day who are inside a house that is falling from the sky. The film has won a number of prizes in Ireland and is currently on the international festival circuit. ‘My Father’s Trousers’ is a short film shot in Ireland in November 2009 and is about two brothers from Ireland traveling to England in the 1930s to work on the harvest. The largely anticipated short film, ‘Ghostgirl’, for which John was the Director of Photography, was also previewed at the festival. John has just returned from an international student film camp in Serbia, where students from all over the world gather to film documentaries together. John, who represented the UK, said: “Going to Serbia really was an amazing experience, and I am hopefully going to get together next year with some of the friends I met at the camp to shoot a fiction film in France.” He added: “Local festivals are incredibly important as they allow the community to see the level of talent in their area, that many people may be unaware of. The support of sponsors and local businesses means that we can continue to make and showcase our work, using industry quality equipment to ensure that our films are shot to the best possible standard. We are very grateful to everyone who helps, both in funding filmmaking and staging festivals such as this one.” Greg Ellison, Managing Director of Barclays Wealth said: “We were delighted to be involved in this year’s film festival, and it was especially pleasing to see one of our former employees showing his fantastic work. It is great that local filmmakers are nurtured and supported in the Young Film Maker of Mann and Short Film competitions. The sponsorship of this festival further emphasises Barclays Wealth’s commitment to supporting the arts in the Isle of Man.” ENDS