Chris Morris jihadi comedy to debut at Sundance

British satirist Chris Morris's 'jihadi comedy' Four Lions - which was rejected by both the BBC and Channel 4 - is to make its premiere at next year's Sundance film festival. 

The festival calls Four Lions "a comedy tour de force about a band of self-styled British jihadis". Morris has claimed that the film, which follows a suicide bomber cell in northern England, will do for Islamist extremists what Dad's Army did for Nazis by making them look "scary but also ridiculous".

Morris, who was dubbed 'the most hated man in Britain' in 2001 when his Brass Eye TV spoof about paedophilia provoked controversy, wrote and directed the movie. Peep Show creators Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain also worked with Morris on the script, and the cast includes Kayvan Novak, the man behind Channel 4's cult Fonejacker series.

Last year both the BBC and Channel 4, who screened Brass Eye, rejected the film on the grounds that Morris's take on jihadism wasn't suitable for prime-time audiences. Film Four eventually gave the project full funding.

The film's producers Warp Films have argued that Morris - who toured Bradford, Luton, Leeds and other northern towns in pre-production - will not offend the Muslim community with his parody. Mark Herbert from Warp Films said: "Chris's research has been meticulous. It is fatwa-proof."

Four Lions will be one of 113 independent films to screen at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah from January 21 to 31. It will be screened in the 'world cinema narrative' section.

Among the 16 movies in the main competition is Sympathy For Delicious - the directing debut by actor Mark Ruffalo, about a paralysed DJ's search for a cure. ·