TICKETS are on sale for the 20th Keswick Film Festival which will open next month.

Famous names such as Mads Mikkelsen, Rachel Weisz, Viggo Mortensen, Bill Nighy and Jenny Agutter will all be seen on the screen.

Festival director Ian Payne: "There will also be one or two famous names appearing in person."

The opening and closing films could not be more different, he said.

The Festival will kick off with Jellyfish, an independent British film from a new director, and close with Green Book, set in the American South and widely tipped for an Oscar or two.

In between these two bookends will be a host of films and documentaries from around the world and an old friend of the Keswick Film Festival, Carl Hunter, will be bringing his first feature film, Sometimes Always Never, which boasts a stellar British cast.

Ian said: “It's shaping up to be another superb weekend of film. It will be a great blend of small and big budgets, heart-wrenching stories and powerful documentaries.

"Festival passes are now on sale from the Theatre by the Lake and our loyal audience is already snapping them up.

"We have had great support from both the Allerdale Festival Fund and the county council’s Community Grant Fund. We have also been able to continue our marketing partnership with Sally’s Cottages which proved so successful last year."

Sally Fielding, owner of Sally's Cottages, said: "We are thrilled to once again be supporting the Keswick Film Festival and encouraging visitors to the region to take part in fantastic local events."

Keswick Film festival runs from February 28 to March 3.

For full details of the programme go to www.keswickfilmfestival.org.