THE countdown is almost over for film lovers in Eastleigh as a popular festival is to return.

Eastleigh Film Festival will return on September 24.

Curated by The Point Theatre, the event gives residents the opportunity to watch some of their favourite films at several venues across the borough for an entire week.

Returning for its fifth year running, organisers said this year's festival is bigger than ever with 14 films being screened at 11 venues.

Two of the event’s headliners – The Lost Boys and The Cabin in the Woods – are sold out, and there are only five tickets remaining for the festival’s opening night.

This year's event celebrates strong women in film with screenings of Lady Bird, Little Women and Steel Magnolias, fuses fine dining with cinema at The Concorde Club and Steak and Spice and commemorates the centenary of the First World War with Journey’s End in Royal Victoria Country Park’s newly refurbished Chapel.

The festival’s trio of headliners begins with Romeo + Juliet at Eastleigh Baptist Church, before The Lost Boys closes the week on The Swan Shopping Centre’s rooftop on September 29.

Tickets cost £10, to book visit www.eastleighfilmfestival.com or call 023 8065 2333.

Here is the programme for the week.

September 24:

The Greatest Showman, The Point, 7.30pm, £12 / £8;

September 25:

Accessible cinema The Lion King, The Point, 10.30am, £5; Eat, Pray, Love, Steak and Spice, 7pm, £5 (£20 to be paid on the night); My Beautiful Laundrette, Eastleigh Launderette, 7.30pm, £10; Lady Bird, The Point, 7.30pm, £10;

September 26:

Little Women, Eastleigh Sewing Centre, 7.30pm, £10; Journey’s End, Royal Victoria Country Park (Chapel), 7.30pm, £10; Chicago, The Concorde Club, 8pm, £5 (£20 to be paid on the night);

September 27:

The Full Monty, Progressive Club, 7.30pm, £10; Steel Magnolias, Quiffy’s Hairdressers, 7.30pm, £10; September 28, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, Eastleigh Baptist Church, 7.30pm, £10; The Cabin in the Woods, Itchen Valley Country Park, 8pm (sold out);

September 29:

Paddington 2, The Point, 2pm, £8 / £6 conc / £5 children; The Lost Boys, The Swan Shopping Centre (rooftop), 8.30pm (sold out).