A British movie set in the West Midlands is to be premiered in Birmingham.
After years in the making, Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle will finally be released in November.
The brainchild of Solihull-based writer/producer Heath Jones, the film will be screened for the first time at Showcase cinemas in Erdington in Birmingham, and Walsgrave in Coventry on Tuesday, November 13.
The film is shot on location in Coventry - including the Council House, the cathedral ruins, War Memorial Park, Coombe Abbey and Ramada Hotel.
It features West Midlands people as extras and provides a new comic twist on the globally known Godiva legend.
Star names include Wolverhampton-born actor James Fleet, who appeared in Vicar of Dibley and Four Weddings and a Funeral, former Steps singer Faye Tozer as Lady Godiva, comedians Tony Slattery and Phil Cornwell, and the controversial former Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine.
Following the premiere, the film will be released from Friday November 16 at the Showcase Cinemas in Erdington and Coventry.
It is expected to be rolled out to big screens nationwide, and be shown on TV, following its regional release. It is hoped the entirely privately financed film will put Coventry on the map, as The Full Monty did for Sheffield and Billy Elliot did for the North-east.
Mr Jones, a former Birmingham University postgraduate and the 38-year-old son of a miner, said: "The people of the West Midlands inspired this movie and star in it, so it only seemed right it should premiere in the West Midlands instead of London's Leicester Square."
Mr Jones said he had to travel the world looking for financiers against the odds, with no support from the British film establishment.
The topical storyline centres on a bid to build a new casino in Coventry. The mayor invites a tribe of wealthy Indians to set it up and finds he's bitten off more than he can chew.
To view the film's trailer, click www.koralispictures.com.
