The first international feature film to be made at Bristol’s Bottle Yard studio has been given the go ahead, putting the city firmly on the movie-making map.
Mariah Mundi & the Midas Box will begin shooting at the end of April and will also use locations in Bristol, Bath and Cornwall.
Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Midnight in Paris), Sam Neill (The Hunter), Lena Headey (300) and Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) are all in the running to take leading roles.
The Victorian London teen fantasy thriller, based on the first of a trilogy of novels by G.P. Taylor, has been described as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter all rolled into one,
It tells the story of 17-year-old Mariah Mundi, whose world is torn apart by the disappearance of his parents and the kidnapping of his younger brother.
The production is the first international feature film to shoot at The Bottle Yard in Hengrove, South Bristol. At 300,000 sq ft, the former wine bottling plant is the South West’s largest dedicated film and television production facility and has already been used to make two films from the micro-budget scheme, iFeatures, and several TV dramas including Inside Men, currently on BBC 1 and Sky One’s Trollied, which is returning later this year for a second series.
The Bottle Yard is a partnership initiative co-managed by Bristol City Council, Creative England and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Creative England’s senior production liaison manager Fiona Francombe, who oversees the Bottle Yard, said: “The Bottle Yard is going from strength to strength and has really put the South West on the map for both TV and now feature film production.
“This film was also considering Scotland but the combination of a supportive line producer and being able to do a fantastic deal on rates has diverted it to Bristol. It’s great news for the region. Not only will they be using locations from Bath to Cornwall, but they are also committed to using as many local crew as possible.”
The film’s line producer Paul Sarony added: “I fought to bring the production to the area to use the excellent crew and facilities of the South West and avoid the huge costs and logistical difficulties of filming in busy London. I have filmed here before and have always found the crew to be excellent, the locations to be amazing and the facilities to be sensibly priced. It’s also great to be filming at The Bottle Yard, which is an exciting new production base with some of the largest and tallest spaces around.”
Filming on the project, a collaboration between London’s Entertainment Motion Pictures, Barcelona’s Arcadia Motion Pictures and Belgium’s uMedia, will begin on April 30.
