ACCLAIMED actress Caroline Goodall has been inspired by a North-East film festival to set parts of her first feature film in the region.

Goodall, who has starred in some of the biggest cinematic blockbusters of the last 25 years, including Schindler’s List, Hook and The Princess Diaries, said: “As a board member of the Newcastle International Film and TV Festival, I travelled back and forth for nine months and got to know this wonderful region.

"I made a commitment that when I greenlit the film we would come here.”

NiFT founder Jacqui Miller-Charlton has ambitions to use the festival to raise the region's profile as a key film location.

In addition to continuing her acting career, most recently in Sky TV’s Bulletproof and as the US President in upcoming Gerard Butler thriller, Hunter Killer and sci-fi feature The Islander, Goodall is screenwriter and producer for the independent British feature film, The Bay of Silence, a Hitchcock-style psychological thriller.

The film boasts an award-winning cast, including Quantum of Solace Bond-girl, Olga Kurylenko, Emmy-winning Scottish actor Brian Cox, star of HBO’s acclaimed new drama Succession, Churchill, X-Men and Troy along with Claes Bang, European Best Actor 2017 for Cannes Palme D’Or winner and Oscar nominee, The Square.

Goodall praised the region for having the scenery and being “film-friendly”.

She said: “We were looking for a remote isolated French village on the Normandy coast.

"The North-East has a stunning coast line, small fishing ports and country lanes. Unit bases and location fees are cost effective.

"Newcastle provides quick access to country locations, hotels, a major airport and train links. We shot in Newcastle and into the Scottish borders. I would especially like to thank The Sage, Newcastle, Eshott Hall Hotel and the people of St Abbs with a shout out to the independent St Abbs Lifeboat.

“This is the first production to shoot as a result of NiFT, and I am proud of that.”

Due for release in 2019, the prestigious British film started filming this summer across a range of locations, including Italy, which surround the film’s main character as he crosses continents in a frantic search for his missing family.

NiFT, formerly known as the Newcastle International Film Festival (NiFF), is the brainchild of Jacqui Miller-Charlton, who launched the festival last year to celebrate the spirit of independent film making both in the region and globally.

  • The second Newcastle International Film & TV Festival 2019 will be held from October 24 to 27.