A top-level boutique movie studio bringing hundreds of jobs and film-making prestige to the Island has been unveiled. 

An exclusive interview with the Isle of Wight County Press this week revealed the scale and vision of the men behind the Medina Studios project on the Kingston Marine Park site in East Cowes.

From carpenters and plasterers to catering staff and film industry training opportunities, the project should put the Isle of Wight at the centre of UK provincial movie making.

Scroll down to see the site where the studio would be built.

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Isle of Wight County Press: The site at Kingston Marine Park.The site at Kingston Marine Park. (Image: Newsquest)

As well as films, high-end television series could be made on the Island.

The project was given the green light last week by an Isle ofWight Council decision to sell the marine park site to Medina Studios.

Now, subject to planning permission to change the area from marine industrial to industrial, work will begin in getting the site ready for Medina Studios is to build a facility comprising four sounds stages totalling 70,000 sq ft, offices and ancillary buildings, with building work expected to start within 12 months.

The three men involved are all experienced in the film industry with impressive CVs working with top players in film and TV.

Cllr Julie Jones-Evans, Isle of Wight Council Cabinet member for levelling up, regeneration and business, said: “The approach from Medina Studios is a game changer for the Island, in terms of high-quality creative jobs at the leading edge of this evolving and fast-growing sector."

The men behind the plan are Duncan Heath (co-chairman of Independent Talent Group), David Godfrey (former director of international operations of the Pinewood Group) and Neil Blewett (managing director of Datasat Media).

David, who worked with directors Ridley Scott and his brother Tony in senior positions in the Pinewood Group and has built studios in the UK and around the world, is excited by the prospects for the Isle of Wight.

He said: "There are so many wonderful locations here from coastal to countryside, stately homes to townscapes.

"This will give filmmakers a studio to go alongside that, so if it is raining, they can rearrange schedules and do internal shooting on those days.

"It will make the Island very attractive to the industry and we would be able to sustain a series such as Doc Martin, which did so much for North Cornwall." 

 

 

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