Award-winning director opening film festival

Sam Mendes said he is "absolutely delighted" to support the festival

An Oscar-winning director is to launch one of the country's biggest coastal film festivals next month.

A special screening of Sir Sam Mendes' 1917 will open the Purbeck Film Festival in Swanage, Dorset, followed by a question and answer session.

Sir Sam won the best director Oscar for his film American Beauty in 2000.

He said: "Film festivals like this are increasingly important for fostering a sense of community, and for keeping the cinema-going experience alive."

Mark Cosgrove of the British Film Institute will join the director for the event on 18 October.

This year's festival, now in its 29th year, will feature more than 100 film screenings from 21 countries over two weeks.

Andrea Etherington, who chairs the festival, said: "Having a filmmaker of Sam Mendes' calibre attend our festival is a tremendous honour.

"His participation not only elevates our festival but also provides a unique opportunity for our audience to gain a deeper understanding of his work and the film industry world."

She continued: "We have more special guests from the industry than ever before, which reflects the growing reputation of our festival throughout the film industry as one of the best in the country - a reputation hard won over the years by the tireless efforts of our team of volunteers."

Films will be shown at over 30 locations, ranging from cinemas in Swanage and Wareham to village and church halls, a hotel and golf, tennis and croquet clubs.