Fans of Eric Cantona and Ken Loach are being offered the unique chance to see their heroes live by Clapham Picturehouse.

The cinema will be hosting a sneak preview of their new film, Looking For Eric, next Thursday before screening a live question and answer session with director Loach and star Cantona taking place somewhere in London.

The film, not released until June 12, follows the story of Eric the postman, played by Steve Evets, who feels he is slipping through his own fingers.

Following an intervention of sorts from his postie workmates and a Paul McKenna self-help book, it is decided he needs someone to look up to, someone about whom he can ask: “What would they do?”

So who does lifelong Manchester Untied fan Eric pick? His all-time hero of course, Cantona.

The Red Devils legend nicely sends up his footballer-as-philosopher persona in a work that boasts a characteristically fine script from writer Paul Laverty, whose previous collaborations with Loach include Sweet Sixteen, Ae Fond Kiss and The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

“I got a message that Eric was trying to get in touch," said Loach.

"Obviously we knew Eric and his public persona very well, and we knew him as a fantastic footballer. And they knew that Paul Laverty and I were interested in football. So we met.

"Eric had a few ideas that were all very interesting, in particular a story of his relationship with one fan.

"Paul and I couldn’t really make that work in terms of narrative, characters and development, but we thought it was an interesting area to explore: not only the enjoyment of football and the part that football plays in people's lives, but also the notion of celebrity and how celebrities are built up in the press and on television - they have a superhuman quality in people's minds.

"There were no major misgivings about showing the script to Eric because we'd met two or three times and we had a good sense of who he was.

"He just seemed somebody who was not reverent about himself and had a twinkle in his eye about the whole project.

"We were just hoping he would enjoy it and he was kind enough to say he did."

Looking for Eric, Clapham Picturehouse, Venn Street, June 4, 8pm. Call 0871 704 2055 or visit picturehouses.co.uk