Eric Cantona coming to a movie screen near you

While Manchester United enjoy another memorable season on the football field, former star player Eric Cantona is making some bold moves on the big screen.

Cantona, who won four Premiership titles in five years with United, will be seen in romantic comedy French Film in May and then sporting comedy Looking for Eric in June.

In French Film, written by the BAFTA-nominated Aschlin Ditta (Scenes of a Sexual Nature and The Catherine Tate Show), journalist Jed Winter (Hugh Bonneville) is preparing to interview the celebrated French auteur film-maker Thierry Grimandi (Cantona), a self-appointed expert on the nature of love. Jed is quick to dismiss Grimandi's theories of love and romance as pretentious nonsense, irrelevant to real people in real life relationships. But when his long-term girlfriend, Cheryl (Victoria Hamilton) refuses to marry him and instead forces him into couple counselling, Jed begins to realise that his own emotions aren't as straightforward as he once believed.

Ken Loach's Looking for Eric sees Cantona give life coaching to Eric Bishop (Steve Everts), a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis. No doubt Cantona will be using all his philosophical powers to bring enlightenment to proceedings.

After several years in movies, has Cantona found the golden touch to win over audiences of a cultural persuasion? Find out when French Film hits cinemas on May 15th and Looking for Eric is released on June 12th.