Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday, Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham and Jim Groom's Room 36 are the first three films to be given confirmed competition slots at the forthcoming Dinard Festival Of British Film (3-6 Oct).

These and three more yet to be announced films will compete for the Hitchcock d'Or at Northern French seaside resort.

The festival, which has become a key meeting point for the British and French industries thanks to an annual round table hosted by the Centre National de la Cinematographie and the Film Council, will have its Saturay gala with the screening of Patrice Leconte's The Man On The Train (L'Homme Du Train).

The festival boasts a series of sneak previews of British films destined for commercial release in France. These include Mike Leigh's All Or Nothing, Shane Meadows' Once Upon A Time In The Midlands, Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People, Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar - all of which premiered at Cannes - as well as Paul & Chris Weitz's hit About A Boy, Simon Cellan-Jones' The One And Only, Alan Taylor's The Emperor's New Clothes, Richard Eyre's Iris, Peter Hewitt's Thunderpants, Harley Cokeliss' An Angel For May and Jana Bokova's documentary Eric Clapton And Friends.

Loach will be in attendance to present a selection of his early films in the Carte Blanche section. Other sidebars include Comedy Night, collecting together four of Gerald Thomas' crude-but-funny Carry On films and a tribute to Guy Hamilton, the French-born director of four James Bond pictures.