Three weeks before it begins, the bets are already in on the big hit at this year's Bradford Film Festival.

The audience at Pictureville Cinema yesterday saw a sneak preview of some of the 100 feature films to be screened next month.

On paper, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Cameron Diaz were the big draws. But the film that set everyone talking had an altogether more local cast.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? is a low-budget comedy set in 1970s Yorkshire and tipped to be the next Full Monty.

It goes on general release in the second half of March - but Bradford audiences will see it weeks earlier.

And its stars and director will be in the city to witness a gala screening.

Chief among them will be Tom Courtenay, the actor whose performance as Keith Waterhouse's Billy Liar in the Sixties kick-started modern film-making in Yorkshire.

His new role sees him as Harold Smith, an unassuming Yorkshire dad who has discovered he can stop people's heart pacemakers using only the power of his mind. When word spreads, he is judged to be the son of God.

The film's infectious, understated humour won it instant acclaim yesterday, and the full screening on March 4 is expected to be a sell-out. The film was shot in Yorkshire, and the Bradford showing is being sponsored by the county's Media Production Agency, which encourages film making in the region.

"Yorkshire is now one of the leading counties in Britain for film production," said Bill Lawrence, the Bradford festival's director.

This year's event - the third biggest in Britain, behind the London and Edinburgh Film Festivals - will be the most extensive for several years, with "roadshow" screenings in York, Hebden Bridge and Holmfirth as well as at four city centre venues in Bradford.

Opening night guests on Friday, March 3 will include film director Alan Parker. The attraction that evening will be the new World War II drama The Cider House Rules, starring Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron.

Al Pacino, meanwhile, will be seen in the forthcoming anti-tobacco industry blockbuster The Insider, and Dustin Hoffman will appear alongside Milla Jovovich in The Messenger, Luc Besson's account of the life of Joan of Arc. Cameron Diaz stars in the comedy Being John Malkovich, which has taken America by storm.

The festival's website at www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk contains full details of all screenings.

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