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The film industry went into a panic at the start of the recession, fearing declining ticket sales. However, admissions in the UK actually increased in 2009. January saw more than 14.5million admissions, the highest for that month for five years and up 7.7% on the previous year. British film Slumdog Millionaire was a major contributing factor as well as comedies Role Models and Yes Man. February was even better with nearly 15million, the highest for the month in six years. Slumdog was still a big performer as well as animated film Bolt which was popular with families during the half-term break. Together, admissions were up 12% on the first two months of 2008.

The British Film Industry: Funding

The fall in the value of the pound makes the UK the perfect filming location. Two of the biggest films of last year, The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! were filmed in the UK. Three big Hollywood films also began shooting in the UK in 2009 - Gulliver's Travels (starring comedy kings Jason Segel and Jack Black alongside new Brit favourite Emily Blunt), Robin Hood (directed by Ridley Scott and starring Aussies Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett as the legendary couple) and the new Harry Potter film. Peter Jackson's eagerly-awaited adaptation of The Lovely Bones and the John Lennon biopic Nowhere, Boy were also financed by UK company Film4.

Indie filmmakers rely heavily on loans to get their productions started but the credit crunch has stopped British banks lending to indie producers. They are instead lending money to more reliable films; they need to be certain that the films they invest in will be profitable. Studios are also abandoning risky projects but still continuing to pay top stars big bucks. They are still one of the biggest box office draws and it is worth the studios investing in their names.

There is word of a possible merger between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide which could have disastrous consequences for BBC Films and Film4. There are already few sources for funding in the UK for riskier projects so the credit crunch could hit the indie film industry hard. WarpX, a joint venture between Film4 and the UK Film Council finances three low-budget films a year. In 2008 they helped produce A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, Donkey Punch and the incredible horror film Hush.

The Film Council itself was set up by former Culture Secretary Chris Smith and is funded by the National Lottery and the treasury, so it's future is safe for the time being as long as it continues to invest in films that do well. They have done well lately with such films as How To Lose Friends and Alienate People, Happy-Go-Lucky and the multi-award-winning Man on Wire.

The British Film Industry: Production and Distribution

Tessa Ross, head of film and drama at Channel4 is credited as executive producer on many successful indie films that have come out of the UK in the last few years; Billy Elliott was her first film and her others include Slumdog Millionaire, In Bruges and The Last King of Scotland. She has a limited budget of £8-10million a year for Film4's entire output, which isn't that much considering most indie films cost around £4-5million.