The Isle of Man Arts Council are delighted that one of their Island of Culture Patrons, Mark Kermode, acclaimed BBC Film Critic, Presenter and Author, has agreed to take time out from his family holiday on the Island to take part in An Evening with Mark Kermode. This inaugural event is an early celebration of Island of Culture 2014 and takes place at The Studio Theatre, Ballakermeen High School on Saturday 29 June 2013 at 8:00pm. Tickets priced at just ?10 are available from the Box Office on 600555.
 
Mark will talk about his life in movies, from getting shot at in Hollywood with Werner Herzog, to being handbagged at the Baftas by Helen Mirren and being thrown out of the Cannes film festival for heckling in very bad French. Along the way he'll discuss the future of film-criticism, explain why 3D is a thing of the past, and attempt to prove that Zac Efron is actually a better actor than Marlon Brando. There'll also be a chance for questions from the audience.
 
Mark, whose mother Audrey was born and grew up in Douglas, said: “One of the great treats of our summer holidays was going to Strand Street for a regular family outing to the cinema. We saw Bond movies, Indiana Jones movies, even a revival of the 1935 George Formby perennial No Limit which my mum had seen umpteen times before. At the time, as a young cinema-lover, I had no idea that the Island would become such a hive of film-making activity, producing some of my favourite movies of recent years  -  ranging from the gripping psychological thriller The Disappearance of Alice Creed to the nailbiting documentary Closer To the Edge (TT3D).”
 
Mark Kermode is resident film critic for BBC Radio 5Live and the BBC News Channel. He is a presenter on BBC2's The Culture Show, and writes for The Observer and Sight and Sound. He is the author of It's Only A Movie, The Good, the Bad and The Multiplex, and the forthcoming Hatchet Job.
 
For more information about Island of Culture 2014 visit www.islandofculture.im or contact the Arts Council on Tel: 694598 or email: iomartscouncil@gov.im.