Empire of Light

63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere

Academy-Award-winner Sam Mendes brings to focus the boundless energy of the late 70s and early 80s, a time of great political upheaval and a creative period for music and culture in the UK. Empire of Light feels like a love letter to seventh art, and the story follows two employees of an English coast cinema, Hilary and Stephen, who find refuge in each other. Mendes hand-picks the songs of his film, such as “Too Much Too Young” by The Specials and “Mirror in the Bathroom” by The Beat or “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division and “Spellbound” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The result is an emotional ode to music and cinema, a personal film that evokes a “golden” past, without, however overlooking the larger social issues of the time.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Sam Mendes

Script: Sam Mendes

Cinematography: Roger Deakins

Editing: Lee Smith

Sound: Stuart Wilson

Music: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

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

Production: Neal Street Productions

Producers: Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes

Costumes: Alexandra Byrne

Production Design: Mark Tildesley

Executive producer: Michael Lerman, Julie Pastor

Make Up: Naomi Donne

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: United Kingdom, USA

Production Year: 2022

Duration: 119΄

Distribution in Greece: Feelgood Entertainment

Contact: Searchlight Pictures

Sam Mendes

Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. That same year, he was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 15 in their list of the “100 most powerful people in British culture.”