NEXT March, leaders in international and UK film will descend on the city for the Bradford International Film Summit.

The three-day event, celebrating Bradford's UNESCO City of Film title, will showcase the district's work in film and television production and explore the City of Film team's work in bringing about social and economic change.

It has been a busy year for film and TV in Bradford, with shooting for productions from DCI Banks to Christmas movie Get Santa taking place in the district. Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore was on Ilkley Moor this autumn shooting her latest movie, Miss You Already, and Avatar star Sam Worthington has been in Ilkley, Shipley and Saltaire over recent weeks shooting big-screen thriller Hunter's Prayer.

Police drama DCI Banks, starring Stephen Tomkinson, was filmed at locations including Ilkley's Cow and Calf Rocks last autumn with the support of funding organisation Creative England, which has support from members of the Yorkshire Film Friendly Partnership, including Bradford City of Film.

Chris Hordley, Creative England's production liaison manager for Yorkshire and East Midlands, said: “We have been working closely with the team at DCI Banks and Ilkley Moor is just one of the fantastic filming locations we are actively promoting as part of Creative England’s film location service in Yorkshire.

"We’ve seen a rise in demand for our location service in Yorkshire over the last three years and 2015 looks set to be another busy year.”

And new film Testament of Youth, based on Vera Brittain's First World War memoirs, was partly shot in Little Germany this year and is the latest addition to the Bradford Film Heritage interactive app, highlighting film and TV production locally.

Over the past two years enquiries from production companies to Bradford City of Film have increased significantly, as the UK film and TV sector has enjoyed a golden era of production.

The first port of call for these enquiries is Bradford Film Office in Little Germany. "We provide a free service allowing production companies to find the ideal location and crew, and assistance with permission and liaisons for filming, and how to approach parking and traffic control," says City of Film director David Wilson. "Having close connections with the Council, businesses and property owners, we support all needs to ensure that any filming taking place in the district runs smoothly."

The 34 filming requests the City of Film team has had this year have resulted in around 45 days of filming in Bradford. "The filming has varied from well-known TV shows across the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to big budget feature films," says David. "These include The One Show, Heston Blumenthal's Great British Food, the fourth series of DCI Banks, US multi-million dollar film Hunter's Prayer, romantic comedy Miss You Already and, currently screening in cinemas, Hockney and Get Santa.

"In addition to the professional productions, we hold monthly surgeries for local film-makers and have offered advice on funding, crew, courses available and space for filming."

The City of Film team is supported by Bradford Council and its highways, countryside and rights of way, parking services and facilities management services, and also receives support from Creative England and Screen Yorkshire, which has boosted the growth in regional production through its £7.5m Content Fund.

The Great Train Robbery and Jamaica Inn, both partly filmed in the Bradford district, are among major TV dramas receiving investment from the Content Fund, set up in 2012 with European Regional Development funding. The first production supported by the Content Fund was Bafta-nominated Peaky Blinders, filmed at Undercliffe Cemetery, Peel Park and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Paranormal thriller Residue and family movie Get Santa, both partly filmed in the district, have also been supported by the Fund.

Hunter's Prayer, about an assassin who forms a bond with a teenage girl he's hired to kill, also received funding from Screen Yorkshire's Content Fund, the biggest regional investment fund for production in the UK.

Richard Knight, head of production at Screen Yorkshire, said: "It's great that we have managed to do this filming in Saltaire and Yorkshire. Salts Mill was chosen as a location due to the sheer epic scale and quality of the building."

Meanwhile, filming also took place in Ilkley earlier this week for the new series of a popular TV crime drama.

David Wilson says that throughout 2014 there has been a marked increase in requests for assistance with productions, which have included six feature films and several TV dramas. "We're delighted with the response from the sector to the city’s film friendly approach and hope to build on this reputation in the coming year," says David. "We are now planning in detail for the Bradford International Film Summit in March and will celebrate the fantastic film and TV achievements of the city with other cities from around the world."

Guests at the summit, including representatives from BAFTA and the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, will be taken on a tour of the district's film locations and landmarks and will learn about the Bradford Film Literacy Programme and Bradford College’s International Film School. There will be a focus on business opportunities to capitalise on film production, and screenings of films made locally.

* For more about Bradford International Film Summit visit bradford-city-of-film.com/summit