This year Birmingham will premiere an Academy Award nominee, a major British comedy and a critically lauded political drama, all in the space of a few months.

On February 24th, the Fierce! Mirage Film Festival will host the official UK Premiere of the Golden Globe winning and Academy Award nominated Paradise Now, which tells the story of two childhood friends recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

In early March, another politically-charged offering, Michael Winterbottom's The Road To Guantanamo, will receive its premiere on the back of screenings at major international festivals. It tells the story of "The Tipton Three", three Britons detained for two years at Guantanamo Bay .

The major British comedy Confetti will also be premiered this spring. Written and directed by Midlands-born Debbie Isitt and funded by Screen West Midlands, the film follows three unorthodox couples vowing to win the coveted title of "Most Original Wedding Of The Year", and stars the cream of British comedy actors, including Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson and Jimmy Carr.