A cinema is ushering in what could be the future of film after being selected to pilot modern digital projectors.

For two weeks the old celluloid projector in the 300-seater Screen Three auditorium at Brighton's Odeon will be switched off to make way for a prototype DVD-style machine.

This could herald the end for scratchy celluloid footage and, if adopted across the UK, will eventually revolutionise film distribution, bringing better sound and image quality than ever.

A festival, starting on Friday, focuses on pop concerts, musicals, ballet, children's shows and other non-mainstream content.

A specially-made digital movie called Jesus The Curry King, about a man who tries to help race relations from an Indian restaurant, will be premiered along with a karaoke version of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The audio system will be put through its paces with a Robbie Williams concert, the ballet Cinderella and Verdi's Rigoletto.

A spokesman for the Odeon said: "We've been chosen as one of four sites to run the new digital projectors.

"We're being used as a test site for the technology which will one day go into every cinema in the country.

"With this technology the image quality is going to be just as good as a DVD but they cost about £65 to make."