Hollywood heartthrob Colin Firth is set to spring into action to help launch the Bradford Film Festival.

The Pride and Prejudice star's new film, called Hope Springs, will launch Bradford's ninth festival on March 14 when it receives its UK premiere at a gala screening in the city.

Today festival organisers said they are hoping Firth and his co-stars Heather Graham and Minnie Driver will join the film's director Mark Herman at a gala screening in the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television's Pictureville Cinema.

Spokesman Dean Loughran said: "Mark Herman, the director of Purely Belter and Brassed Off, is definitely coming. Obviously the big stars have lots of work commitments but we're hopeful that Colin will come too."

Hope Springs will not be the only UK premiere at this year's festival. Puckoon - a new film version of Spike Milligan's satirical book starring Sean Hughes and Richard Attenborough - will close the festival on March 29.

Mr Loughran, said: "Both films are terrific coups for Bradford Film Festival and we will be announcing a number of other surprise UK premieres over the next couple of weeks. We're building on the success of previous years and Bradford is now extremely well established as a place to come and show your films.

"I think the fact we have got two high profile UK premieres shows the festival and the city are well and truly on the movie map. Every year we attract people from as far afield as Canada, America, Australia and Europe, particularly for our wide-screen weekend which this year is the second weekend of the festival."

The two-week festival will also feature a retrospective of work by British movie maker Alex Cox, who directed cult classics Repoman and Sid and Nancy, as well as the first UK appearance since the 1960s of Italian-born director Gualtiero Jacopetti - the creator of the Mondo film genre.

Aspiring Spielbergs will be able to pick up valuable tips when the festival's popular masterclasses return. This year Bullitt director Peter Yates and Italian Job producer Michael Deeley will headline the masterclass sessions handing out advice to budding film makers.

For more festival details visit its website at www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk