On the day the Film Council announced its £6m strategy to boost the regional movie industry, the agencies shaping up to become the North-East's answer to Hollywood were busy moving into new offices.

The Northern Screen Commission, Northern Production Fund and Northern Media Training are all now housed together under the same roof in Central Square in Newcastle, making them ideally place to boost film-making in the region. The Film Council's announcement and the move couldn't have come at a better time for the North-East's growing movie industry. The international success of Billy Elliot, shot in Easington, is an excellent calling card for those trying to promote movie-making in the region.

Of course, one-hit Brit-flick doesn't mean the all-purpose Northern Film and Media Office can nail a Hollywood-on-Tyne plaque on the door. Not yet anyway. And besides, there is rather more to the work of the organisations than enticing high profile feature films to the region. That's the job of the Northern Screen Commission - to "sell" the region and its facilities to producers looking for locations.

The Northern Production Fund encourages film-makers, writers and technicians from the region. The cash it hands out is modest by feature film standards but the sums are vital, life-saving ones that can keep a project afloat in the early precarious days of development and pre-production.

The agency was set up four years ago by Northern Arts to help new talent through financial support, training, assistance and advice. The work covers both feature films and short films. A top figure of £50,000 is available for feature film production, £10,000 for development and £30,000 for short films. But the money can make all the difference between a project living or dying.

Film and Media Officer Ian Cottage sees the Film Council's strategy in setting out a development plan for film in the English regions can only be a good thing. Instead of the various agencies around the country working in isolation, there will be a framework for greater co-operation over regional policy and funding.

The move comes at a time when Cottage feels the NPF has grown so much that its future shape needs to be addressed. "The production base has grown as we've invested in people and writers. There are quite a few making feature films. The fund from my point of view has almost grown out of itself and needs to develop," he says.

"The Film Council's strategy will mean a much more cohesive plan for film and media in the regions. We will still retain our individuality but film-makers will see the benefit because of this more cohesive policy across England. A lot of the stuff the Film Council is proposing we have been doing for four years so it's not a total transition. It's really a question of how do we take this opportunity to grow."

The Film Council's plans include a £6m fund to support production, training and exhibition projects. Cottage is currently working on a long-term strategy as to how the NPF can develop over the next six years. "If we get it right, it will mean we can pull more money into the region in film production," he explains.

Training is an important growth area with plans to finance trainees to get practical experience working on film sets. This has already started with trainees working alongside professionals on the £3m British feature Jimmy Spud which was shot partly in the North-East this year.

"That's how you build up the industry by building up the skills base and confidence in the quality of their work," says Cottage.

The success of Billy Elliot has raised the profile of the North-East on the movie map. Cottage says it serves to help people identify the fact that a lot of good writers have come out of the regions. Too many British films this year have been London-based gangster dramas and comedies that haven't worked artistically or at the box office, or both. "We have a high calibre of imaginative writers. You can see that with people like Lee Hall, Alan Plater and Ian La Frenais. The good thing about Northern writers is that they are loyal to the region," he says. As well as Billy Elliot, the past year has seen other film-makers use the region. Purely Belter was shot in and around Newcastle by Little Voice director Mark Herman. Scenes for the new Harry Potter film were shot at Goathland in North Yorkshire and Durham Cathedral. This year also saw the cinema release of Nasty Neighbours starring The Royle Family's Ricky Tomlinson. This was the first feature from Newcastle-based Ipso Facto, which the NPF helped with development money.

A Catherine Cookson ITV drama, A Dinner Of Herbs, was made in the North-East, along with two Robson Green TV series. Police series The Bill shot a special episode in Newcastle and Spice Girl Mel B featured in a short film, shot in South Shields.

What the North-East doesn't have is a film studio, although there are moves to look into providing those facilities. "I would like to see a fully-run studio operating in the next seven years - and why not? Film-making generates a lot of money coming into the region," adds Cottage.

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