Sunday 21 March will mark the first ever London Film Day. Presented by the Mayor of London in association with Film London and the BFI London Film Festival, the event will be a day-long celebration of the magic of the big screen, packed with fun activities, competitions and the World Public Premiere of Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang* taking place simultaneously in 15 cinemas across London.
 
Legend John Landis returns to film-making with a dream team Ealing Studios collaboration. Landis is back in London to shoot his first film in ten years, black comedy Burke and Hare*. The director of cult film An American Werewolf in London, Michael Jackson's Thriller video and The Blues Brothers says his love of British film lured him back.

Microwave's third feature – a heartwarming urban romance set in the world of freestyle basketball – is set for release in cinemas nationwide on 26 February. In anticipation, Microwave speaks to Kolton Lee, director of Freestyle, to find out more about his micro-budget filming experience.

Are you a British film-maker with a new British feature film that needs a sales agent, or perhaps needs to be seen by a film festival director? If so, then you may be eligible to apply for Breakthrough - a strand of the London UK Film Focus (LUFF), an annual four-day British film export event held in the capital. Check out the criteria for submissions online and get your application in by 26 March 2010.

Celebration (Cyprus Street), a new work by Melanie Manchot - commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and funded by Film London's Digital Film Archive Fund - will be on show at the Whitechapel Gallery until 14 March. Inspired by screen heritage material of street celebrations, Manchot's project draws on traditions of group portraiture at public street parties - exploring individual and collective identity through photography and film.

Do you work in the TV, commercial and film industries and want to know more about filming safely and legally on location? Then this one-day 'Working in Locations' workshop on 6 March - led by two experienced location managers, Paul Howard and Harriet Lawrence - is for you. Numbers for this workshop are limited – apply before 3 March to secure your place.

Enter the Croydon Film Festival short film-making competition now for your chance to have your film screened in the David Lean Cinema. As long as you or half of your group live, work or study in London Borough of Croydon you could be eligible to apply. The festival itself, which is supported by Film London's Outer Boroughs Pilot Fund, takes place in April 2010.

To celebrate LGBT History Month, Crystal Palace Pictures, supported by Film London's Outer Boroughs Pilot Fund, are showing 2009's Oscar-winning Milk. Head to the Gypsy Hill Tavern for 7.30pm this Thursday.

Sound & Music Techniques for Narrative Filmmaking with Gustavo Costantini is a 2-day workshop on 27 and 28 February at The London Film School - essential for equipping film-makers with a better understanding of how sound and images are used in contemporary film-making. 
 
The world's largest network of independent film-makers will collaborate on the third edition of Online Film Festival Babelgum. The partnership brings a Shooting People curated selection of shorts - fiction, animations, documentary, music video and artists' film - to a global audience via Babelgum's online platform and its free application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, and Google's Android devices.
 
What makes a cult film? Roxy Bar & Screen is offering up five of their favourite cult films from 28 February, starting with time travel, jet engines, giant rabbits and Patrick Swayze. 

Pinewood Studios have launched an apprenticeship scheme designed to give young people a start in the UK film industry. The studios have selected 10 apprentices from local colleges to join 12 Skillset apprentices already working at the Pinewood Studios Group. Apprentices will be given the chance to work on the latest Harry Potter and the forthcoming John Carter of Mars.

The Berlin festival has kicked off its 60th year with one of the coldest Berlinales on record. Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer* is in the running for the Golden Bear.

Festivals etc. currently seeking submissions include: The BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum - deadline 8 March 2010; Aesthetica Short Film Competition - deadline 30 April 2010; and The London Film Festival - deadline for shorts 25 June and 9 July for features.

Film London is now on Twitter! Start following us now, to keep up with all the latest film and media news in the capital.

And finally
 
From the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the producer of Knocked Up and Superbad, Russell Brand stars alongside Jonah Hill as out-of-control British rock star Aldous Snow in Get him to the Greek.*