Film London has revealed in the last week that the Mayor of London will continue to invest in the agency. This commitment of funding ensures “the UK capital has a dedicated film and media agency supporting and driving growth in London’;s production sector,” says Film London.

Any other outcome would have been a huge surprise given that Film London is being given extra responsibilities by central government to compensate for the planned closure of the UK Film Council. However it’;s worth noting that its budget of £1.3m a year represents a drop of more than 20%.

Notwithstanding this, Film London says it will “continue to deliver its core activities. This will include providing on the ground support – across feature films, TV, commercials, as well as online and games content – attracting productions to the capital. Film London will also continue to cultivate new and emerging film-making talent and work towards maximising access to the capital’;s film culture by helping audiences to discover film in all its diversity.”

Film London also said the money would be sufficient to deliver important and successful initiatives such as Film London Microwave, the London UK Film Focus (LUFF) and the Production Finance Market (PFM) which connects financiers and producers. The funding will also allow Film London to ensure that film can best exploit the opportunities offered by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London said: “This is fantastic news for London. The production industries in the capital make a vital contribution to the economy through direct and indirect spend, plus they sustain and create in the region of 70,000 jobs in London and we will work to ensure this continues. This funding settlement also allows us to deliver new opportunities for the capital’;s aspiring film-makers and enrich the city’;s film culture.