Frank Cottrell Boyce – the man responsible for scripting the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony – will be a headline speaker at this year’s Bradford International Film Festival.

The screenwriter and novelist, who started off writing on Brookside and went on to write films such as Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, A Cock And Bull Story and, more recently The Railway Man, will be in Bradford on March 29.

He will be a speaker for the Filmmakers’ Weekend in association with the Northern Film School.

Film director Sally Potter, regarded as one of the UK’s most fascinating and inspirational directors, will also be in Bradford next month to receive a Fellowship Award from the film festival.

The 20th Bradford International Film Festival, in partnership with Virgin Media, runs from March 27 to April 6. After Sally’s award presentation, on March 30, there will be an on-stage discussion and audience question-and-answer session.

There will be screenings of her complete filmography including Ginger & Rosa, Rage, Yes, The Man Who Cried, The Tango Lesson, Orlando and The Gold Diggers as well as a election of her short films.

Sally made her first 8mm film aged 14 and has since written and directed seven feature films, many short films, and a television series, as well as opera and other live performance work. Her background is in choreography, music, performance art and experimental film and she’s known for innovative form and risk-taking subject matter.

Festival co-director Tom Vincent said: “Between 1979, when Sally Potter made Thriller, to 2012, when she made Ginger & Rosa, British cinema has been through many trends and phases.

“Over these 35 years, Sally Potter’s films have moved playfully between so many facets of culture, exploring dance, music, history, gender, performance. Always asking questions, never resting, always ambitious, never settling into whatever British film imagines itself to be, she’s one of our truly inspirational film-makers.”

An exhibition, The Rage Portraits, features digital photographs taken by Sally on the set of her film, Rage.

To book festival tickets call 0844 856 3797 or visit bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk.