The makers of a feature film about morris dancing in the West Country have called on the people of the region to get behind their campaign to see it distributed to major cinemas.

The film, called Morris: A Life with Bells On stars household names including Sir Derek Jacobi and Clive Mantle, and was filmed at a series of locations last summer across Wiltshire and Dorset.

But the producers of the film say they fear they have fallen victim to wrongly held prejudice against morris dancing when it comes to striking a deal with distributors to get the film in multiplexes across the country.

Instead, the film is so far only being screened at village halls and community centres in towns and villages across Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset in the coming weeks.

But an internet campaign has been started by fans who have seen preview screenings to persuade distributors that the feel-good film will be a hit – and is just what the British cinema-going public needs to cheer them up in these troubled times.

The film is a light-hearted story which starts off as a mock-documentary looking at a fictional Morris dancing troop somewhere in the area of Dorset, Wiltshire or Somerset.

Much of the filming took place in the hamlet of Lower Chicksgrove, near Tisbury in Wiltshire, with other scenes in Poole and at the Wimborne Folk Festival. Through the magic of cinema, Bournemouth beach was made to look like the sands of Los Angeles.

The film follows the story of a maverick morris dancing side who find themselves banned for their revolutionary new style of dancing. After being made last summer, the film has so far struggled to get a mainstream distribution deal.

Now though, the rural cinema initiative Moviola will be showing the film exclusively at 21 locations across the West between now and March.

The film's writer, producer and star Chaz Oldham said: "We went to the distributors and they all loved the film, but said they didn't think people would go to watch a film about morris dancing. We think they're wrong and the feedback we've had from everyone who has seen it so far has been amazing. Everyone loves it and it's just what people want right now. There's already enough films with people shooting each other sideways – this is a gentle, funny film with no swearing, no nudity and no violence – although some of the dances get a bit rough at times. Everyone who has come away from watching it is asking why it isn't being screened in cinemas.

"It's just what people need in these dark times and we hope this deal in the South West will start a real buzz about the film and make the distributors change their minds."

The film's director, TV comedy star Lucy Akhurst: "I am thrilled that Morris is going to first be seen by the people who did so much to help make it: the people of south west England. Our goal is now to enable it to reach a wider audience not only in the UK, but the rest of the English-speaking parts of our solar system. Morris is, quite simply, a phenomenon and one that will not go away."