British movie star John Hurt tops the bill in next month’s Bradford International Film Festival.

He will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and talk on stage at Pictureville about his career.

There will be a retrospective of ten of his films including 10 Rillington Place, Midnight Express, The Elephant Man, 1984 and a 70mm version of Alien.

He said: “I am delighted to be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. I have long admired this festival for its eclectic mix of films and innovative programming. I am very much looking forward to visiting the world’s first City of Film in March.”

John Hurt appeared at the Museum last summer as a 50ft video image of Big Brother, in a stage adaptation of George Orwell’s novel 1984 by Bradford theatre company Paper Zoo.

He joins an already illustrious array of Lifetime Achievement Award recipients including Ken Loach, Sir Richard Attenborough and the late Jean Simmons.

Nicholas Roeg’s 60 years as director, cinematographer and screenwriter will also be honoured with a Fellowship Award.

A selection of his films will be shown, including Don’t Look Now, Eureka and Puffball.

Oscar-nominated British character actress Imelda Staunton will be taking part in a screentalk with the festival’s artistic director Tony Earnshaw.

Vera Drake, the 2005 film for which she won a British BAFTA for best actress, will be shown.

Brazilian movie director Fernando Meirelles – City of God, The Constant Gardener, Blindness – will be supporting his first-ever UK retrospective.

Tony Earnshaw said: “I am thrilled with our line-up and know that our audiences are going to be delighted with the broad range of films available this year.”

The 11-day programme of screenings includes the popular Widescreen Weekend, the Industry Weekend and the Shine Award for the best short film.

The 16th Bradford International Film Festival is on from March 18-28.