Film London actively commissions research projects and also works in partnership with other key organisations to produce information on the film and media sector.

Facts & Figures

An overview of industry activity in 2011 is as follows:

• In 2011 total UK film production spend hit £1.2bn, the highest figure recorded. 
• International investment also set a new record, with over £1bn spent in the UK, a 3% increase on 2010. Approximately 75% of this production is concentrated in London and the South East .
• In 2010 Film London received 2,211 enquiries and assisted approximately 1,702 productions with locations support. From the total of productions assisted 22% were TV projects, 9% features, 22% commercials and promos and 17% short films.
• London's local authorities recorded over 14,000 filming days in 2011, an increase of 4% since 2010. Since Film London was launched in 2004, there has been a 30% increase in filming in the capital. 
• The annual London UK Film Focus (LUFF) continued to boost the export of British features. As a result of LUFF 2011, sales of UK films worth of US$11.5 million were generated. 
• In October 2011 Film London hosted the fifth Production Finance Market in association with the London Film Festival. 106 production and financing companies from 15 countries attended and 55 projects were presented during the two-day event. 
• Six feature films have been produced through Film London Microwave, all of which have secured UK distribution with a 7^th feature currently in post production.
• In 2011 Film London launched another round of Microwave. 12 features have been shortlisted and currently in development. Up to five new features will be greenlit in 2012.
• Projects funded by Film London collected a range of national and international awards in 2010-2011. Honours included a BAFTA® nomination for short film Rite as well as six animation awards and a nomination for the prestigious Cartoon D'Or for animated short A Family Portrait.
  
• The London Filming Partnership, which works to promote filming and increase inward investment, now has a membership of 260 members - including organisations, agencies, local authorities, production companies and education establishments.
• Through its audience development work, Film London gave financial support to 12 film exhibition projects including 5 projects with an education focus between April 2010 and April 2011.
• Film London held over 110 individual open-access advice surgeries between  April 2010 and April 2011, and brought together exhibitors, festival organisers, art centres, local authority film officers, archivists and freelancers at 9 forums, information sessions and training events aimed at tackling the challenges facing the capital's film exhibition sector.
• Through London's Screen Archives: the regional network, Film London supported 75 archives, museums, and libraries to make their moving image collections more accessible through large-scale digitisation and cataloguing projects. LSA launched an online union catalogue which allows users to search across more than 60 collections in London. 
• Films depicting the UK are responsible for attracting about 1 in 10 overseas tourists, spending around £1.9 billion a year. Internationally successful features productions assisted by Film London and shot in the capital such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, all contribute to promoting London as a key destination for business and tourism .

Research

Stately Attraction Tourism Report
Commissioned by film and tourism bodies, the report by Olsberg|SPI, reveals the locations most likely to inspire tourism are stately homes; historic and religious buildings; and rural or village landscapes.

Stately Attraction Tourism Report (PDF)

The Impact of Local Cinema
In 2003, the British Film Institute and the UK Film Council commissioned a study to measure and assess the impact of local cinemas on the social, cultural and economic life of their communities.  Film London helped to fund case study elements of the project, along with EM Media, another screen agency in the local area. The results of the study demonstrate the wide range of positive impacts local cinemas have on their communities. For example, how they provide a focus for the local community, contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of town centres, and contribute to the local economy through audience and visitor spend.

Overview of the Local Cinema Project (PDF)

The Economic Impact of the UK Screen Industries
During 2004 the UK Film Council, in association with most of the UK's national and regional screen and development agencies, commissioned a report into the economic impact of the UK screen industries. The study was conducted by a consortium consisting of Cambridge Econometrics and Optima (David Graham and Associates and Oliver & Ohlbaum and Associates). It covered five screen industry sectors - film, TV, corporate video, advertising and interactive and was completed in April 2005. The reference year for the study was 2002, the latest year for which the necessary baseline official data were available.

The Economic Impact of the UK Screen Industries (PDF)

Independent Training Providers Research
Film London (as part of the Working Broadband Project) commissioned Burns Owens Partnership (BOP) to carry out research, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the 'non-formal' training providers' sector. The report was published in March 2004 and highlights the strengths of the independent sector in terms of access and diversity, as well as providing a comprehensive mapping of independent training provision within the film and television sector in London.

Independent Training Providers Research Paper (MS Word)