EMPIRE OF LIGHT
Narrative Feature | 119 minutes

HIFF 2022

 Spotlight

Directed by
Sam Mendes

Produced by
Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes

Written by
Sam Mendes

Featuring
Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke

Sponsored by



2022 | English | UK/USA

From Academy Award®-winning director and writer Sam Mendes, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is an intimate and moving story about love, friendship, and connection, set in a coastal town in Southern England against the social turmoil of the early 1980s. 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. A Searchlight Pictures release.