Quiet please! Action!

A year after it was first awarded funding, Manchester's International Screen School is about to happen.

Contractors are now bidding for the £18M contract for the 50K SF film school at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Oxford Road campus.

The project has the backing of Trainspotting director Danny Boyle.

Manchester is already a major film production centre and is tipped to win a large share of the 800K SF extra floorspace that consultancy group Amion predicts the industry will need in the U.K. before 2032.

With 600 film and TV industry businesses, Manchester's industry is about one-third the size of London's, the Financial Times reports.

On-site work is due to start before November 2019 with a completion date of mid-2021, Construction Enquirer reports.

Funding is being provided by the Local Growth Fund and the university.

The new Screen School will work closely with key regional players including RED Productions, BBC and ITV. It is estimated that the school will generate an annual £13M boost for the local economy.