THE eighth Purbeck Film festival starts tomorrow with some fabulous films at the Rex cinema, Wareham, and the Lighthouse, Poole.

The Opening Gala film at the Rex is Barbarian Invasions, a new Canadian film that celebrates life, love, regrets and redemption and is brutally funny with it.

Local film makers are also being given the chance to show what they can do by showcasing a short film produced by Bournemouth University student Teddy Leifer.

The animation is based on a poem by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame which he narrates and stars in along with The Unsteady Chough.

The Lighthouse kicks off with our featured director's film Three Colours Blue by Krysztof Kiewslowski starring Juliette Binoche. Nashville follows at 7.50pm, a fantastic Robert Altman homage to the music of Tennessee starring Jeff Goldblum and Shelley Duvall.

And that's just the beginning. For the next two weeks, from Bournemouth and Poole to Wareham and Swanage and all the villages in between, there are films for everyone.

Celebrate the gorgeousness of Marlon Brando in his prime with On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire or maybe James Dean is more your type in Giant at Winfrith Newburgh Village Hall on Tuesday.

Or maybe a challenging film that makes you think? Try Man Bites Dog a cult classic about a documentary film crew recording the activities of a serial killer.

Or Mephisto starring Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out Of Africa) in a remarkable Hungarian film on betrayal and compromise as an actor struggles to survive and excel in his profession.

These are just a few of the 45 films being shownduring the first week of the Purbeck Film Festival. For more information and tickets call Wareham Tourist Information Centre 01929 552740 or the film festival office on 01929 427164