SWINDON LITERARY FESTIVAL: AN ACCLAIMED film about a man's struggle against cancer was this evening due to round off the penultimate day of the 10th Swindon Festival of Literature.

Called More than a Life, the film could not be more poignant for festival director Matt Holland the subject is his late brother, Pete, and the filmmaker another brother, Luke.

The film has been broadcast on BBC2 to universal acclaim and hailed as a milestone work at film festivals as far afield as Toronto and Barcelona.

Matt is at pains to point out that its Swindon appearance is not because of its family connection.

He explained: "The key thing from my point of view is that we put on a documentary at the festival every year, and each one is chosen entirely on merit.

"This year's is no exception I want that to be understood.

"I'm delighted that it is a film recording the last years of my brother's life, but I have put it in the festival on merit."

Following tonight's 8pm screening at the Arts Centre in Devizes Road, Luke Holland will talk about the film, along with Dr Atherton Gray, a consultant haematologist at the Great Western Hospital, who treated Peter.

Pete, who founded Holland Handling Recycling and was for many years a backer of the festival of literature, was diagnosed with myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow, in 1996, and fought against the disease for four years.

Admission to the film is priced at £5, with concessions at £4 and further details available on Swindon 614837.