Liverpool has secured its reputation as the Hollywood of the North West after new figures revealed filming in the city increased by 42% last year.Last year was a record-breaking period for the city's film and television industry with production levels the highest recorded.

  The UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund has announced support for three new films, totalling £1.67 million in production finance. All the filmmakers involved have previously been supported by UKFC in earlier projects.

Scotland's smoking ban comes into force from 6.00am Sunday 26th March and it applies in all workplaces, including performing venues and indoor sets and potentially outdoor sets too, if partially covered.

The first ever Metropolitan Police Service Film Unit (MPSFU) has been announced by Lord Puttnam, Chair of the Film London Executive Task Force, and Commander Shabir Hussain of the Metropolitan Police. This streamlined service has been set up following recommendations from the London Filming Partnership Executive Task Force.

British drama co-producer Power has started shooting Flood, its US$24m feature disaster thriller about sea-inundated London, set for theatrical release early next year. The feature joins Power in a three-way hook-up with Moonlighting Films of South Africa and Muse Entertainment Enterprises of Canada. The project is being produced by Power's CEO Justin Bodle and independent producer Peter McAleese…

The atmosphere is dark, dismal and claustrophobic. From the cave roof, water drips and trickles underfoot. The noxious odour of rotting bones fills the fetid air. Meanwhile, leaves swirl gently on the surface of a filthy swamp. A young woman lies unconscious at the water's edge, one leg badly gored, a raw and bloodied chest. In her arms, a torn, ripped life jacket.....

Figures from North West Vision's Liverpool film office reveal 632 days of filming during 2005, beating the previous record of 612 days of filming in 2003.  2006 got off to a good start with the filming of Across the Universe, a large-scale musical production, set in the mid 60’s.  A young man from Liverpool goes to America during the Vietnam War to find his father. The story is to…