Film centre gets government funds

The Tate extension is expected to be completed in 2012.
The government has approved funding for a National Film Centre on London's South Bank.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the funding highlighted the government's "continuing support for the arts", and on Friday the government confirmed it would provide £45m to help fund a National Film Centre, a long-cherished project of the late film director and former BFI chairman Anthony Minghella.
The centre will provide a new home for the British Film Institute and become a venue for key film events, such as the opening night of the London Film Festival and global premieres.
It is expected to house five digital cinemas and is destined for completion in 2015.
Further investment will come from the London Mayor's office, which has promised £5m, the sale of the BFI's current London offices and outside investors.
"Britain has achieved worldwide respect for its innovative and vibrant film industry," said the prime minister.
"The commitment to the new BFI National Film Centre demonstrates the government's continuing support for the arts in Britain, and our determination to invest in leading creative industries as part of our economic recovery."
The investment comes on top of £25m that the government has already committed to preserve for the nation the BFI's internationally-acclaimed film collection.
A spokesman for the BFI said: "We're absolutely delighted that we can start to move forward and realise our long-term strategy.
"Film is up there with other art forms such as dance and opera and the visual arts. It is high time that film got a centre worthy of the form."