Searchlight Pictures has dropped a new trailer for Sam Mendes’ upcoming film Empire of Light, which stars Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward. The film has been on a film festival run ahead of release, including a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Here is the official synopsis:

Set in a coastal town in Southern England against the social turmoil of the early 1980s. Empire of Light is an intimate and moving story about love, friendship, and connection. Hilary (Olivia Colman), a woman with a difficult past and an uneasy present, is part of a makeshift family at the old Empire Cinema on the seafront. When Stephen (Micheal Ward) is hired to work in the cinema, the two find an unlikely attraction and discover the healing power of movies, music and community.

Colin Firth, Tanya Steele and Toby Jones also star.

The film’s music was composed by Academy Award Winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Mendes previously said of the film, “For me, that was the late ’70s and early ’80s: the music, the movies, the pop culture of that period generally formed who I was. It was a period of great political upheaval in the U.K., with a great deal of very incendiary racial politics – but at the same time, an amazing period for music and for culture generally – very creative, very politicized, very energized.”

 

 

The film hits theaters Dec. 9.

Watch the trailer below: