UK support body the Film Council has announced its latest round of single film project investments through its Development Fund, including new films from cult director Richard Stanley and Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen.

Twenty projects have received a combined total of£329,241, bringing the number of individual investments in single projects to more than 40 since the Development Fund went live over a year ago. The fund, headed by Jenny Borgars, is also funding the development slates of 12 UK film companies.

The latest single film investments are:

A Kind Of Warfare: Portrait Of A Serial Seducer
Produced by Emma Berkofsky and Valencia Haynes, A Kind Of Warfare is a comedy about a man can't understand why his good fortune in finding eager women is seen as an affliction. As far as he's concerned, his problem is not his promiscuity, but rather his seemingly endless quest, which is becoming laborious. Until, that is, he meets Sara, a most unlikely candidate for his affections. Steve Allison is attached as writer to adapt Deborah Bosley's novel of the same name.

The Anarchists
The story of a young girl who finally learns the truth about the supposedly anarchist grandfather she's always looked up to, and discovers a new interpretation of what it means to be truly anarchic. The film is directed by Sarah Gavron, written by Antonia Baldo and produced by APT Films' Jonny Persey. FilmFour Lab is co-developing.

Boney And Betsy
Produced by Christian Martin and Paul Katis of Pukka Films, Boney And Betsy is set in 1815 and tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who finds a chance to make her mark on the world when the exiled Napoleon is sent to live at the bottom of her garden. The film is written by Simon van der Borgh, directed by Peter Medak and executive produced by Ivan MacTaggart.

China To Me
Produced by Primadonna Productions' Sandra Yarwood and written by Francesca Brill, the film is set during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong and is loosely based on the true story of an epic and passionate love affair between unconventional New Yorker journalist Emily Hahn and British Intelligence Officer Charles Boxer.

Comes The Time
When violence threatens to over-run a sleepy little town, locals hire their own law-enforcer, but succeed only in raising the level of thuggery to a new and terrifying level. Producer is Angus Lamont, Ideal World and the writer is Peter McDougall.

Godparents
Executive produced by David Parfitt, Godparents is about a scatty actress and an uptight architect who find themselves looking after their joint baby god-daughter following her parents' death. The film is written by Sadie Jones and produced by Marina Gratsos and Felix von Moreau, Arcadia Films.

Hostage 2 Fortune
Written by Martin Stellman and Brian Ward, the film finds Mandy - shy scholarship girl at an exclusive public school, living in the shadow of high-flying Tiffany, disaffected daughter of the US Ambassador - unwillingly caught up in Tiffany's attention-seeking attempt to stage her own kidnapping.

The Last Man
Produced by Tiger Lily's Natasha Dack, The Last Man is a story about an ex-RAF officer who learns to take a new look at life and his family when he's forced to give up his job. Written by Jasmin Dizdar and Paul Fraser, the film is being co-developed by the East Midlands Media Initiative.

Mapping The Edge
Based on Sarah Dunant's novel of the same title, Mapping The Edge is a psychological thriller written by Dunant and Emmanuel Oberg, and produced by Eileen Quinn at Monogram. When Anna's daughter and twin sister go missing in Florence, she must track them down with the help of her sister's lover, and a womanising con man.

Patrick Robertson: A Tale Of Adventure
Based on the novel of the same name by Brian Hennigan, the film tells the story of a dedicated machine tools salesman Patrick Robertson, who is mistakenly kidnapped by eco-warriors whilst in the Far East. The film is written by Paul DiStefano and produced by Paul Goodman of Litmus Productions.

The Prince Of Dalston
A comedy about a failed accountancy student working as a mini-cab driver in Dalston who has been lying to his parents for years about his academic and social success. Now they are coming to England to visit and he must 'create' a lifestyle to fulfil their expectations. The film is written by Felix Dexter and produced by Parminder Vir (a Film Council director who the council said in a statement was not involved in the decision) and Carlton TV.

Smokescreen
A contemporary thriller about a dangerous and seductive true-life deception involving the supposed smuggling of a multi-billion dollar consignment of counterfeit cigarettes. Produced by Paul Fisher of Sonata Films and written by Jenny Mayhew.

Straight To Video
Utterly traumatised by his arrest and near-conviction for a series of brutal murders, 33-year-old Sean Veil has become a true paranoid. He has spent the ten years since his acquittal video-taping his every moment as insurance against the day when he's confronted with another crime. But despite all his precautions, when the police eventually do come calling the one tape that could prove his innocence has disappeared. The feature debut of writer/director John Simpson, Green Park Films' Michael Casey is producing.

Straightheads
A parable of rebirth, in which a middle class couple are subjected to an horrific assault, and embark on a spree of random violence themselves in an attempt to allow themselves to recover by negating their own consciences. Written and produced by Suspect Device's Dan Reed, the film is in co-development with FilmFour Lab.

These Things Stay
Drama about three estranged brothers who must face up to their dark family history when their mother's will insists they each raise a pit bull terrier puppy to fight to the death for their inheritance. The writer is Richard Vincent.

Timbuktu
Turner Prize-winner Steve McQueen directs this film about a man who embarks on a journey to Nowheresville. The film is written by Hilton Als and produced by Keith Griffiths of Illuminations. The film is being co-developed by FilmFour Lab.

Untitled Black Comedy
Determined to get her feminist take on Jack the Ripper to the silver screen, an intense young English writer finds herself embroiled in a morass of murder and blackmail - but the corruption of her character is nothing compared to the massacre being imposed on her script. The film is written by Simon Harper and produced by Babydoll Productions' Sara Harper.

Urban Legends
A slate of "urban legend" inspired, low-budget films. The first two proposals to progress to treatment stage are Breathcatcher by Christopher Fowler and Thumbs Down by Lucy Floyd. Producers are Rachel Cuperman, Marc Samuelson and Peter Samuelson.

Viy
Written by cult film director Richard Stanley, Viy is a vampire story set in the Balkans where the evils of the past come face to face with the evils of war.

The Wooden Camera
In a township close to Cape Town after the end of apartheid, two 13-year-old children play along the railway, where they find a dead man. In his hand an attache-case. Inside, they find a gun and a video camera. One takes the gun and the other the camera. Their destiny is sealed. The film is directed by Ntshaveni Wa Luruli, written by Yves Buclet a