Is the threatened recession affecting the film industry

A.� Foreign investment in the British film industry has slumped by a third, sparking fears that the boom period enjoyed over the last five years could be at an end. Figures for the first six months of this year show that after two years in which studios have received plenty of money, investment has slumped from �223m to �78m in June.

Analysts say the lack of European funding causes greatest concern. Only 10 films being made here this year had European partners, compared with 17 during the same period in 200.

This is despite big-budget films such as JK Rowling's Harry Potter trilogy and Spy Games being filmed�in the UK.

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Q.� Why has the money dried up

A.� The collapse has been blamed on the big American studios who tightened their belts to ride out the threatened actors' strike and writers' strikes in Hollywood earlier this year. Both actions were settled.

A number of high-profile projects have also been delayed or cancelled, including John Boorman's Knight's Castle and Bruce Beresford's Boswell for the Defence, starring Michael Caine.

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Films awaiting funding this year include:

The Snow Goose - based on Paul Gallico's mythic tale. Hollywood heart-throb Antonio Banderas will play the lead, but shooting has been delayed to 2002

Young Adam - an erotic film-noir starring Ewan MacGregor back in Scotland. production was due to start in Glasgow in July on a budget of over �4million, but was stopped because of funding problems

Byron - a picture of the aristocratic rebel and lover, directed by John Irwin

The Brontes - a portrait of the Haworth family.

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Q.� Are there any British films likely to buck the trend

A.� Peter Cattaneo's follow-up to The Full Monty, Lucky Break, starring Cold Feet star James Nesbitt, opens this week, and Steve Coogan's The Parole Officer has enjoyed box office success.

DNA Films, one of the three mini-studios created with lottery money, recently poured more money into Danny Boyle's �13 million fiction film 28 days later.

FilmFour is also backing Charlotte Gray, its biggest ever production, based on Sebastian Faulk's novel. Working Title, which had huge successes with Four Weddings And a Funeral, Notting Hill and Billy Elliot, is doing a screen version of Nick Hornby's About A Man and Ali G Da Movie.

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By Katharine MacColl

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