Bend It Like Beckham is one of the few British films directed by women

Research found that people from ethnic minority groups comprised 1.6% of the film and video production workforce.

Most cinema cleaners are female, but out of 350 films made in the UK only eight were directed by women.

These include Gurinder Chadha's hit Bend It Like Beckham and Lynne Ramsay's arthouse film Morvern Callar.

And the proportion of disabled workers in the industry was 0.8% - a figure unchanged over the past two years.

The council has unveiled a series of proposals in an attempt to achieve a more diverse workforce in the industry.

They include new schemes to target ethnic minority workers, summer school programmes, bursaries and a new code of practice.

The council also plans to include targets on equal opportunities in its funding agreements.

'Creative potential'

"One of the UK's most distinctive and valued assets is its multiculturalism," said Tim Bevan of Working Title Productions.

"From my perspective as a producer, this offers film a real opportunity in developing creative potential."

Arts minister Estelle Morris has also backed the new drive. "Art holds up a mirror to reality," she said.

"The film industry should fully reflect the rich diversity of our culture, both in front of and behind the camera."

My Big Fat Greek Wedding inspired an "ethnic" sitcom in the US

The Film Council's report contrasts with another issued in Los Angeles on Thursday stating that the number of minority writers in US primetime television increased last year.

Minority writers accounted for 13% of primetime writers in 2002, up from 10% in 2001, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The report said there are also signs that they are moving beyond the traditional stronghold of "ethnic" sitcoms into other sitcoms, dramas and reality shows.

In all, the US TV networks employed 205 minority writers last year, as opposed to 135 in 2001.

"We're a long way from success, but this is definitely progress," said Charles Holland of the Writers Guild of America West, who issued the report on Thursday.