Bridport's film festival, From Page To Screen, has announced its programme for this year's event.

Running from April 26 to 30, the festival will feature 21 films, guest speakers and Q&A sessions at Bridport Arts Centre and The Electric Palace, and will welcome curator Christopher Hampton.

The double Oscar-winning screenwriter will be presenting iconic classics as well as brand new releases and discussing the making of film adaptations with guests throughout this unique festival.

At 5pm on the opening day of the festival - Wednesday, April 26 - Christopher will introduce a favourite example of the adaptation of stage for screen, 'Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf'.

The 1966 depiction of a marriage imploding over one booze-fuelled night stars the celebrity couple of their day - Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor - and won five Academy Awards.

That evening, Christopher will open the gala preview screening of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry'. 

Starring Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton, it's a chance to see this new adaptation of Rachel Joyce's debut novel before the rest of the UK.

At 2pm on Thursday, April 27 there's a rare opportunity to hear the inside story of cinema's revolutionary European New Wave and New Hollywood era with producer Andrew Braunsberg. 

He will be in a Q&A after the screening of his 1976 thriller 'The Tenant', directed by Roman Polanski and starring Isabelle Adjani, and also discussing his work on 'Being There' and 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'.

This will be followed by a screening of 'Letter From An Unknown Woman', introduced by broadcaster Francine Stock who describes the 1948 masterpiece as "...a seductively devastating tale of obsession, blending high European and Hollywood style, this luscious adaptation of Stefan Zweig's novella pairs destiny and delusion in a Viennese waltz. Like Lisa, we can't tear ourselves away".

Day two of the festival finishes with 'Emily', starring Sex Education star Emma Mackey as the most rebellious of the Brontë sisters, for which she recently won the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

The film imagines what inspired Brontë to create Wuthering Heights and is the directorial debut for British-Australian actor Frances O'Connor, who will join a discussion and Q&A after the screening.

The centre piece of Friday, April 28 is an in depth conversation between Francine Stock and Christopher Hampton about the complexities of adapting theatre for film. 

'From Stage To Screen' will include excerpts from the films discussed like 'Dangerous Liaisons' and 'The Father', for both of which he won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

Francine says of this ambitious event: "This will be so interesting - Christopher Hampton's achievements over decades as a dramatist for both stage and screen demonstrate his deep understanding of the strength and needs of each art. 

"I can't wait for his insights into the relationship between story, character and audience whether in a cinema, on a stage - or indeed live at the Electric Palace!"

This will be followed by an evening screening of 'The Son', starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby. 

Co-written by Christopher with the original playwright-director Florian Zeller, it's a companion to their outstanding collaboration on 'The Father' and another reflection on a family in crisis. 

Francine will lead a post-film Q&A with Christopher and commented: "Everyone knows a youngster who is suffering. If that youngster is someone close to you that may well be terrifying. The Son is a contemporary horror story in a gleaming metropolis of busy capable people. What can a parent do?"

On Saturday, April 29 at 5pm the screening of 'A Dangerous Method', starring Keira Knightly as a patient in the early years of psychoanalysis, is followed by a Q&A with Jack Wightman talking with Christopher about his experience of working with its director David Cronenberg. 

That evening there's the chance to see 'She Said', starring Carey Mulligan, and hear about how the New York Times journalists' account of exposing the film industry sexual predator Harvey Weinstein was adapted for cinema with its screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz. 

Rebecca said: "It's brilliant that She Said is showing at From Page To Screen... it's an important film about women and abuse of power and the incredible strength of the collective."

The festival closes on Sunday, April 30 with 'Allelujah' - the moving, all-star adaptation of Alan Bennett's play about a care home fighting for survival - and one last speaker; acclaimed film, theatre, television and opera director Richard Eyre, whose previous films include 'The Ploughman's Lunch', 'Iris', 'Notes On A Scandal' and 'The Children's Act'. 

Richard Eyre is looking forward to being back in The Electric Palace, which was the cinema of his youth.

You can find all programme details and book tickets at Bridport Tourist Information Centre or at www.frompagetoscreen.info