The fourth annual Richard Attenborough Film Awards will be held on January 28th, celebrating the films of the year as voted for by UK regional film critics. Voting began in December, and journalists will decide their Film of the Year, Performance of the Year, Filmmaker of the Year, Screenwriter of the Year, Rising Star and All Time Legend.

In addition, there are to be a further 9 awards to be voted for by the UK cinema-going public, with awards patron Lord Attenborough commenting “2009 proved to be an exceptionally bouyant year for cinemagoing, with an increase in audiences across the UK. This adds to my pleasure in announcing the fourth annual Richard Attenborough Film Awards, which take in the opinions of both regional audiences and the regional critics.”

The categories to be voted on by the public are:

Classic FM’s Film Music of the Year Award, with nominations including 9 (Deborah Lure), Avatar (James Horner) and Bright Star (Mark Bradshaw). (Voting is open at www.classicfm.co.uk until January 22.)

British Film of the Year Award in association with The Alan Titchmarsh show, with nominations including An Education, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Moon.

Best New Director Award sponsored by BritFilm.tv, with nominations including Duncan Jones (Moon), Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and Samantha Morton (The Unloved).

3D Film of the Year sponsored by The Brighton Argus, with nominations including Bolt, Coraline and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. (Voting is open at www.theargus.co.uk until January 22.)

Best Use of UK Locations sponsored by Visit Britain, with nominations including The Young Victoria, Dorian Gray and Nowhere Boy.

Best Film Made in the Midlands sponsored by EM Media, with nominations including Bronson, Bunny and the Bull and Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee

Plus three regional Film of the Year Awards sponsored by Scottish arts magazine The List, Bristol’s Venue Magazine and The Birimingham Mail, with readers of those titles picking their favourites from a raft of nominations including The Hurt Locker, Gran Torino, Star Trek and Let the Right One In.

For more information, and to cast your vote, visit the official website at www.filmoftheyear.co.uk. Voting is open until January 22nd, and we’ll be following up on the winners at the end of January.