Mel Gibson Beaver film given release date

It is unclear whether Gibson will attend the music and film festival

Mel Gibson's film The Beaver, which saw its release postponed last year, will be premiered in March in Texas.

The release of the movie, directed by Jodie Foster, was pushed back when alleged tapes of Gibson verbally abusing his ex-partner were released.

In the film, Gibson plays a troubled family man who communicates with people by using a beaver hand puppet.

The film will be screened at the South by Southwest festival, which runs from 11 to 20 March in Austin, Texas.

Gibson and Foster previously appeared together in the 1994 comedy Maverick.

Gibson's publicist Alan Nierob said he did not know whether the actor would be attending the festival.

The Lethal Weapon star is currently involved in a custody battle with Oksanka Grigorieva over their 14-month-old daughter Lucia.

The beaver marks Gibson's first film appearance since his thriller Edge of Darkness was released last January.

In October it was revealed that plans to feature him in a cameo role in the Hangover sequel had been dropped.