It's a cold, bright morning when Moving Pictures visits the Isle of Man set of British gangster movie Everybody Loves Sunshine, which screens today in the Marche. The film, into its final two weeks of shooting, stars drum'n'bass artist Goldie in his first acting role and is already the third production to be shot this year on the tiny 48 x 16km island off England's west coast. 

The attractions of the tax-friendly Isle of Man are obvious to a production that has been budgeted on a tight $4 million (£1.5 million). So while party-loving Goldie openly admits that the quiet surroundings are driving him insane ("I was in bed by 10pm last night!" he moans), producer Joanna Reay (Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis) is seeing the sunny side. "We've hired locations here at a much lower rate than you could on the mainland," she explains from the production bus, "and the Isle of Man Film Commission has sorted everything for us. It's been a good decision, financially, to film out here."

Filmmaking is fast becoming a cottage industry for the Isle of Man, with the glam factor rubbing off on local tastes. Already, the island's minister for culture, David North, is an enthusiastic (if somewhat unlikely) Goldie fan; and the Isle of Man Film Commission is openly flirting with Hollywood players and pushing hard for further investment. "We can invest anything from 25% of the production budget on any film, assuming at least 50% of the film is shot on the island," says Hilary Dugdale of the Film Commission. "The only other criteria we have to enforce is that filmmakers spend a minimum of 20% below the line budget on the island. It's a good deal for everyone."
In the last year, the Isle of Man has played host to Jeremy Thomas' All The Little Animals, Hyperion's Tom's Midnight Garden, Fox Searchlight's Dreaming of Joseph Lees, and Blue Rider's The Hunted (aka Shergar). But it's Everybody Loves Sunshine (the debut from Andrew Goth, who writes, directs and co-stars) that has been generating media momentum. 

It's easy to see why. The prospect of seeing jungle icon Goldie as local gangster Terry is enough reason for his British fan base to support the film ("Goldie has died and gone to heaven as far as club culture is concerned," remarks Joanna Reay). But a further, international, draw is his co-star, David Bowie (Basquiat, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence). "David Bowie's involvement gives the film another dimension," says Reay, "though we actually had the financing before he came on board. He loved Andrew's script and really wanted to act with Goldie. Bowie can look thin and mean, so it's very good casting!"

Everybody Loves Sunshine has already won the 1995 European Script Fund Award and the 1996 Carl Foreman/BAFTA award. However, the American financing fell through at the last minute, so Reay waived her own fee (as did various sales agents) and sold Germany, Spain, France and Scandinavia to BV Film, plus Brazil (Top Tape), Mexico (Gussi), Russia (Soyuz), Benelux (RCV), Italy (Triumph), Japan (KFS) and Malaysia (Sunny Films) to keep the production afloat. Despite funding from the Isle of Man Film Commission, IAC and BV Films, the film's finances became so desperate at one point that phone lines were cut and bags dumped in the local hotel lobby. Comedian Rik Mayall, who starred in Reay's Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis, even stepped in to pay for the film stock.

Now that the film is completed, the success or failure of Everybody Loves Sunshine, which launches at Cannes with the obligatory party, will rest largely on the unknown quantity of Goldie's acting abilities. Relaxing in his trailer between takes, and dressed dramatically in black pleated Miyake from the set, and his own trademark gold jewellery, Goldie is typically hyper-confident. "I find acting very easy," he claims. "I'm an artist, I paint, I sculpt, I make jewellery, I make music – these hands have done everything! The important thing is how to get in front of a camera, but I have no problem with that because I've been doing it for the last couple of years."

Reay is certainly a fan of Goldie's abilities: "He holds nothing back. I've seen him in scenes that have taken my breath away. He's the consummate professional." 
Certainly, Everybody Loves Sunshine plays to Goldie's strengths: its backdrop is the Manchester club scene, and the film provides an explosive account of gangland culture, a lifestyle familiar to Goldie through his own rough upbringing. 

"I feel sorry for Terry," he says of his violent role. "He's very confused and angry. But it's Goldie wrapped around Terry, not Terry wrapped around Goldie which is really the important difference for me, because I look at him and go, 'I don't want to be this guy'." 

Everybody Loves Sunshine is being sold at Cannes through IAC Holdings Limited.