Globe-trotting Python Michael Palin and actor/director Kenneth Branagh are to headline this year's Bradford Film Festival.

Other special guests include film critic Barry Norman and director Julien Temple, best known for his work with the Sex Pistols and his film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.

The 14th Bradford International Film Festival (BIFF), held at the National Media Museum, offers a two-week programme of new releases, vintage classics, tributes and awards.

Regarded as one of the UK's top movie festivals, it attracts film fans from around the world.

This year Kenneth Branagh and Michael Palin will receive a BIFF Fellowship Award and BIFF Lifetime Achievement Award respectively.

Mr Branagh, a Bafta winner and four-time Oscar nominee, will be honoured with a season of films covering his career as actor and director.

Hailed as the new Olivier' in the 1980s, he is best known for his film adaptations of Shakespeare's work, including Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet.

Other film credits include Peter's Friends and soon-to-be-released Valkyrie about the attempted assassination of Hitler, starring Tom Cruise.

A Michael Palin retrospective will feature a range of his writing and acting credits, from Monty Python to his acclaimed BBC travel programmes. Mr Palin's film career includes Life of Brian and A Private Function, filmed in Ilkley.

Barry Norman, who presented BBC1's Film programme for 25 years, will talk about his career. After starting as a journalist in the 1960s, he became show business editor of the Daily Mail and a Guardian columnist. He presented the Film programme until 1989 before moving to Sky.

Punk pioneer Julien Temple's work is highlighted in features, documentaries and pop promos. His films include Earth Girls Are Easy, Glastonbury and Sex Pistols documentary The Filth and the Fury.

Composer Patrick Doyle, whose credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Calendar Girls and Gosford Park, will headline the festival's fourth Film and Music Conference, and there's a season dedicated to German film-maker Christian Petzold, also due to visit Bradford.

The museum's state-of-the-art facilities mean films can be shown in every format, from 16mm and 35mm to 70mm and three-strip Cinerama.

This year sees the return of CineFile - documentaries on movies and movie-makers - the Widescreen Weekend, premieres, previews and Uncharted States of America, celebrating new US independent cinema.

The Shine Award will be presented to the best new short film selected from hundreds of entries.

Tony Earnshaw, artistic director of Bradford International Film Festival, said: "We have yet another fully packed programme in store for film fans, promising something for everyone.

"We're delighted to welcome so many exciting guests to the museum and look forward to showcasing their work."

The Bradford International Film Festival runs at the National Media Museum from February 29 to March 15.

For more information or to book tickets ring 0870 70 10 200 or visit www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk