A TRIPLE bill of speakers will open this year’s From Page To Screen film festival in April.

The festival, the only one of its kind in the country, is dedicated to the adaptation of books into films and will be from April 2 to 6.

The opening night will feature a special screening for members only of the movie Frank, which received rave reviews at last month’s Sundance Film Festival.

The film was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and co-written by Jon Ronson, From Page to Screen’s guest curator.

Frank is an offbeat comedy, starring Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson, about a wannabe musician who finds himself out of his depth when he joins a maverick rock band led by the enigmatic Frank – a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head.

Written by Mr Ronson, a journalist, documentary filmmaker and author of non-fiction books including The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Peter Straughan, a writer and director who wrote the screenplay for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank is a fictional story based on the memoir by Mr Ronson, who played the keyboards in Frank Sidebottom’s band.

Mr Ronson will be on stage after the screening ‘in conversation’ with Mr Straughan and Mr Abrahamson. Earlier in the day you can see Ronson’s new one-man show Frank: My Story and get the true story behind the movie.

Polly Gifford, director of Bridport Arts Centre, said: “We are thrilled to have such an amazing triple bill of speakers for our opening night and we will be rolling out the red carpet in Bridport.”

Frank isn’t scheduled for release in the UK until May but festival audiences can see it first at this special event. The screening is only open to festival members but tickets include day membership.

Last month it was confirmed that author Nick Hornby will be attending the festival, ahead of a screening of A Long Way Down, his fourth novel to be made into a film. Mr Ronson and Mr Straughan will also be on stage before a showing of The Men Who Stare at Goats, the 2009 comedy starring George Clooney. The screenplay was written by Mr Straughan and is based on Mr Ronson’s book.

A full programme of Mr Ronson’s film choices will be announced later this month.

Bridport Arts Centre in collaboration with the Electric Palace cinema will show a range of films over five days at the two venues.

Most screenings will feature a talk by authors or filmmakers, giving audiences the chance to go beneath the surface of their favourite films and discover more about the film-making process. Mr Ronson’s other books include international bestsellers The Psychopath Test and Them: Adventures with Extremists.

From Page To Screen was founded in 2009 by Bridport Arts Centre, inspired by the Bridport Prize – one of the UK's longest running and respected literary prizes.

More details can be found at www.frompagetoscreen.org.uk.