CUMBRIA has once again found itself a star of the big screen with the release of the film Radiator.

The darkly comic examination of family life, which was premiered at the 58th London Film Festival, is set against a north Cumbrian backdrop.

It follows a series of films over the years that were filmed in the county, most notably Swallows and Amazons, the cult movie Withnail and I and the Hollywood hit Miss Potter.

The film was co-written and directed by Cumbrian Tom Browne, and shot at a variety of locations around the county during September last year, including Manesty, Derwentwater and Mosedale as well as Tom’s late parents’ house near to Mungrisedale.

The story centres on a middle-aged man Daniel, from London, who decides to return live in Cumbria, where he then attempts to re-order the lives of his scatter-brained parents Leonard and Maria.

Leonard, is played by Richard Johnson, a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and respected film actor, who has had notable big screen successes under his belt, including The Haunting and Khartoum with Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier.

Maria, is played by Gemma Jones, who has starred in a range of top films, including Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, she also played Bridget Jones’ mum in the film of the same name and notably Madam Pomfrey in the Harry Potter franchise.

Daniel Cerqueira, who plays the son Daniel, co-wrote the script alongside the director Tom Browne, and has appeared in a number of stage, TV and film productions. These include the HBO/BBC series Rome, The Woman in Black, Birdsong, and Saving Private Ryan with Steven Spielberg.

Richard Greenwood, Cumbria Tourism’s operations manager, said: ‘’Cumbria Tourism works with a number of media partners to attract film and TV crews to Cumbria. One of those central partners is Creative England, with whom we work very closely, providing them with information on locations, property and context for a huge range of projects. One such example of this collaborative approach is ‘Radiator, a further illustration of how through working together we are helping to place the county firmly in the TV and film industry spotlight.’’

Nick Beech, production Liaison co-ordinator at Creative England, said: “The Lake District is a fantastically versatile place for all types of production. With a wealth of locations and settings including a huge variety of natural backdrops, astonishing period properties, picturesque villages, dramatic roads and scenic rivers, the area has some of the most spectacular scenery in the country – simply put it’s beautiful, multifaceted, and a fabulous film friendly location.’’

A trailer from the film can be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/106483233 ‘Radiator’ is now set to embark on a tour of international film festivals, before being released in the UK in 2015.