A poignant new trailer has landed for Empire of Light.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1917), the 1980s-based romantic drama centres on a depressed cinema manager working on the Margate seafront who finds herself sharing a powerful connection with a young Black British ticket-seller.

No stranger to awards dominance, Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lost Daughter) headlines the film as Hilary alongside fellow BAFTA-winner Micheal Ward (Blue Story, Top Boy) as Stephen.

The rest of the versatile support cast includes BAFTA-winners Toby Jones (Marvellous, Detectorists) and Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult, The Thief, his Wife and the Canoe) plus Tom Brooke (Game of Thrones, The Crown), Tanya Moodie (A Discovery of Witches, Motherland), Hannah Onslow (Ridley Road, This is Going to Hurt), Crystal Clarke (Sanditon, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain), Justin Edwards (The Thick of It, Yesterday), Sara Stewart (Batman Begins, Unforgotten), Ron Cook (Hot Fuzz, Des) and Oscar-winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, 1917).

Touted as a potential BAFTA contender next year, Empire of Light will be released in the UK on 13 January 2023.