First trailer of Sam Mendes film Empire of Light shot at Dreamland in Margate
The film is scheduled for UK release in January 2023
The teaser trailer for Empire of Light, a film by Sam Mendes, Neal Street Productions and Searchlight Pictures has just been released.
Featuring Dreamland Margate as a primary location, the film centres around a love story set against the backdrop of a run-down cinema, on the Kent coast.
Filming took place on location at Dreamland earlier this year, and with it brought a huge buzz of excitement to the town and surrounds.
Eddie Kemsley, CEO Dreamland Margate said: “The teaser trailer is fantastic! We were all so thrilled that Sam Mendes, Neal Street Productions and Searchlight Pictures chose our great town and of course, our beautiful old cinema building at Dreamland, to play such a central role. We can’t wait until we can see the film when it is released in the UK!
“It’s a testament to Margate and the wider County of Kent that we can attract such high calibre productions, which not only significantly contribute to the economy, but also help to highlight British gems such as Dreamland to a worldwide audience.”
The film is due to be released in US cinemas in December 2022 and is scheduled for UK release in January 2023. The synopsis of the trailer states:
‘Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980’s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema, from Academy Award® - winning director Sam Mendes.’
EMPIRE OF LIGHT features a stellar cast led by Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lost Daughter), BAFTA winner Micheal Ward (Blue Story, Top Boy) and Academy Award winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man). It also reunites Mendes with Academy Award winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Skyfall).
