A film made in Keighley about British Muslims coping with prejudice in the wake of September 11 is to get its television premiere next week.

Filmed in Lawkholme, Yasmin is a compelling drama written by Simon Beaufoy, Bafta-winning writer of smash hit The Full Monty, who grew up in Keighley.

The film is told from the viewpoint of a young Westernised Muslim woman who agrees to marry a cousin from rural Pakistan to please her father.

When he arrives, the goat herder has little in common with Yasmin, an independent, modern woman with her own job, car - and white boyfriend.

Her confidence deteriorates after September 11 when she becomes ostracised at work. It starts with a note saying "Yasmin loves Osama" stuck on her locker.

When her husband is wrongly imprisoned as a suspected terrorist, Yasmin fights for his release, leading her to re-evaluate her faith, culture and relationships.

While researching the film Mr Beaufoy met Asian people from Keighley and Bradford in workshops and used their real-life stories in his script.

He told the Telegraph & Argus that he discovered a strong racial divide in the district, arising from the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Iraq war.

"Loyalties are being tested," he said. "People became ostracised, picked on at work, singled out by police. Islamophobia has led to a re-affirmation of Muslim culture among Asian communities.

"The film is about the effect of September 11 on a woman leading a double life, with an Asian husband and a white boyfriend. It's about her and her family.

"Everything in the film

happened, it's all the stories I heard moulded into one continuous one."

Mr Beaufoy was keen to portray a Muslim woman in a lead role.

"The character of Yasmin is based on one woman we spent a lot of time with, we wanted the film to be centred around someone like her," he said. "The women I met said they had never been properly represented in film.

"Young Muslim women are never in a lead role, they're usually subordinate to men.

"To me they're incredibly interesting because their loyalties are split several ways; whether they're at work, home, or out with friends they're conforming, rebelling or bending slightly to fit in with their own culture and Westernised society."

The film, featuring several actors from the district, is the first feature film funded by Screen Yorkshire, the Leeds-based regional film agency which develops the industry in the county by encouraging film-makers to work here and use local actors and crews.

Yasmin is played by Archie Panjabi, who starred in East is East and Bend It Like Beckham.

She said: "I'm not Muslim but I could understand Yasmin's search for identity. She's torn between the Westernised society she lives and works in, and traditions at home. It's the first character I've played that shows it as it really is. Yasmin is no victim, nor is she a stereotype."

The Full Monty became the most successful British comedy ever, grossing £180 million worldwide. Mr Beaufoy's other films include Blow Dry, shot in Keighley in 2001.

He said Yasmin was originally set in Oldham - "but worked its way across the Pennines!"

"The producers wanted a Northern mill town and they liked Keighley's countryside. It's a place I know well."

The Yorkshire premiere of Yasmin was at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television last year.

It will be shown on Channel 4 on Thursday January 13 at 10pm.