An independent industry report has concluded the film sector contributes a massive £4.5bn a year to the UK economy. With the industry proving resilient to the economic downturn its substantial contribution is welcomed while providing around 100,000 jobs. Thanks largely to the existing UK's Film Tax Relief introduced in 2007, the film industry generates £13 for each £1 invested, with inward investment accounting for £3.6b of the sector's contribution to the GDP.

The paper, titled 'The Economic Impact of the UK Film Industry' was commissioned by the UK Film Council, the Pinewood Group and post-production house Framestore.

The document highlights the financial importance of the film sector, of which three quarters is concentrated in  the capital and the South East region. Of the 100,000 jobs created by the industry's wider network, the core sector directly employs 36,000 people nationwide which has risen 7% from the latest figures published in 2006. Around 26,000 (55%) of these core jobs are based in London and other 5,800 (12%) in the South East, which hosts major film studios such as Pinewood and Shepperton.

As well as attracting many big productions to film in the capital, London is also confirmed to be at the top of the post-production game, gathering 20% of all film visual effects commissioned worldwide, a percentage that has doubled since 2005. The high specialization and collaborative approach of the many award-winning post houses around Soho helped them land contracts from top effects-laden productions of the past year including Avatar, 2012 or Where the Wild Things Are.

The report also provides a snapshot of the impact of film in related industries, including tourism. An impressive 10% (£1.9b) of revenues generated by foreign visits to the UK every year can be attributed to tourists coming to visit locations where famous films were shot. Initiatives such as Film London's movie maps, encourage film lovers to discover corners featured in the Harry Potter films, Bridget Jones or Love Actually amongst many others.

Other sectors to benefit significantly from UK film production are national TV broadcasters (which generates £245m of revenue through films), sales of DVDs and Blue Ray (£124m) and related computer games (£85m).

The full report can be downloaded from the UK Film Council's website.