A new film studio for Scotland, greater funds for film making, an increase in the number of movies being made and greater support for film makers are key pieces in a new film strategy for Scotland.

This morning the main arts and creative industries funder north of the border, Creative Scotland, unveiled its Film Strategy for the next three years, a document which sets out a series of priorities for its dealings with the industry, including a key search for more funds to be spent on film making.

It also pledges to generate "increased incentives for film and television production which match - or better - the incentives of other territories" so that movie makers decide to shoot in Scotland rather than rivals in the film world such as Ireland, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland or Europe.

Currently around £6.9m is spent on film in Scotland, out of £363m in the UK as a whole, and on average only six feature films are made in Scotland annually.

These have included recent movies such as Under the Skin, World War Z, The Railway Man, Filth and Sunshine on Leith.

However, Creative Scotland wants to both find "financial instruments" to boost film funding as well as increase the number of productions made each year so that the country can "compete in a meaningful way at home and internationally".

The building of a new film studio in Scotland is key to the strategy, it believes.

With Scottish Enterprise it is currently working on a location and business plan for a facility that can be economically viable in the long term.

Scottish Enterprise are looking at around half a dozen business plans for studio sites around Glasgow and Edinburgh, but as yet no definite plan, with a private investor on board, has been announced.

Creative Scotland's new director of film, Natalie Usher, said that Scotland needed to better compete with other countries, such as Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has a studio in place at the Titanic Studios in Belfast, where the popular television series Game of Thrones is shot.

Various studio plans in Scotland have been mooted over the years, but none - apart from the recent conversion of a large warehouse for the filming of Outlander in Cumbernauld - have come to fruition.

Private sector bids to build the studio, which could cost between £15 million and £74m, are now being scrutinised by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and the winner will receive public funds from SE, the Scottish Government, up to £2m and Creative Scotland, which has set aside £1m.

Ms Usher said: "We are working effectively with Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government, and key in what we are trying to achieve is that this is a sustainable studio, that is right for Scotland, and right for the film making community.

"It is difficult when you cannot say anything [for commercial reasons], because it looks like nothing is happening - but that is not the case, people are working extremely hard and a lot of work is going on."

She added: "The film community are concerned about the film studio, about funding, and asking 'why can we not be like Northern Ireland, why cannot we have what they have got?'"

Ms Usher said that Scotland could be a more attractive place to make films in the future.

The document says: "in partnership with the sector, Scottish Government and UK Government, we will work towards a review of the policies and issues surrounding co-productions, international film and high-end television drama production, and energetically press the case for increased tax incentives."

She said: "It is not something that is going to happen over night, but what we want to do, and what we say in the strategy, is that we are going to lobby for tax incentives that match or are even better than other countries.

"We need to draw people to Scotland through the studio, through amazing locations, through the funding, through all of these different things - Northern Ireland has been developing that amazing [film making] landscape for some time, but we need to be forward looking and ambitious that we can do it."

Janet Archer, chief executive of Creative Scotland, said: "We are confident that every effort is being made to make this happen."

Both Ms Usher and Ms Archer said there is no need to break away film support from the rest of Creative Scotland, which is a merger of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen.

Ms Usher said that the body was also reviewing how and when it backs films during the complex financial decision-making that goes into financing movies.

The strategy says that Creative Scotland will "work to find the right balance between film's cultural and economic impact in the allocation of our Film and Television Funding, giving support to Scottish-based filmmakers and films that reflect or promote Scottish culture, creativity and diversity.

"We will make our application and assessment processes reflect this more clearly.

"Through our Targeted Funding programmes, we will prioritise funding for the development and production of high-quality feature films, documentaries and animation from Scottish-based talent."

There is a pledge to provide "greater support for writers and script development" as well as "support for and commitment to Scotland's production community, in particular documentary-making and animation, through sourcing increased funding for production."

To improve the ease of which films can be shot on location in Scotland, the strategy suggests the establishment of a National Film Advisory Board, in co-operation with VisitScotland, National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, Transport Scotland, ScotRail and Police Scotland.

Ms Usher added: "This is an ambitious strategy for film in Scotland.

"It sets out our aim to make Scotland home to a vibrant, culturally diverse and commercially-competitive film sector.

"It is motivated by a shared ambition to see a growth in the number and diversity of films and filmmakers; to establish an enviable reputation for excellence in filmmaking and cement Scotland's position as a key destination for international productions.

"Scotland will be a nation that celebrates the importance of every aspect of its film culture."