Film set for Sundance premiere

Chris Morris's new film about British Muslim terrorists is to receive its world premiere at next month's Sundance Film Festival.

Four Lions, which depicts life at a militant training camp, has been shortlisted for competition at the prestigious festival in Utah from January 21 to 31.

The festival calls the film ‘a comedy tour de force about a bunch of self styled British jihadis’

Peep Show creators Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain worked with Morris on the script, and the core cast includes Kayvan Novak – the man behind Channel 4’s Fonejacker series.

Dead Set star Riz Ahmed, Jam & Jersulaem’s Nigel Lindsay and relative newcomer Arsher Ali also have key roles.

Four Lions has been funded by Film Four after the BBC and Channel 4 both rejected it, fearing it may prove too controversial, but Morris said that the film is a farce showing ‘the Dad's Army side to terrorism’.

Four Lions is one of just 14 films being screened as part of the ‘world cinema narrative’ strand of Sundance, for which more than 1,000 movies applied.

Meanwhile, Louis CK's Hilarious will become the first stand-up concert film to be shown at Sundance.

Published: 4 Dec 2009