A preview screening of a long-awaited movie partially filmed in west Dorset last year is having to be held in neighbouring Devon.

The screening of the Mary Anning film Ammonite, which can’t be hosted in Lyme due to the town not having a cinema available, has sold out.

Ammonite, based on the life of Lyme’s famous fossil hunter Mary Anning and shot in the town last year, will be shown at Sidmouth’s Radway Cinema on Saturday, October 17.

Tickets for the one-off screening, part of the London Film Festival, have already sold out. It is thought the film will go on general release in November.

This year’s London Film Festival will be the first ever edition to be widely accessible wherever you are in the UK, with over 50 virtual premieres and cinema screenings.

Radway Cinema is owned by Scott Cinemas, which also owns the Regent cinema in Lyme Regis that sadly burnt down in 2016. Unfortunately, it is yet to be rebuilt and Ammonite is unable to be premiered in Mary Anning’s hometown of Lyme Regis.

Ammonite, which was directed by Francis Lee and stars Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet as Mary Anning and Saoirse Ronan as geologist Charlotte Murchsion, features themes of same sex relationships and class.

It won rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

The Telegraph’s review described it as “one of the finest films of the year” and a “shiveringly passionate period piece” that “does things to your fingertips and makes you want to buy candles”.

The BBC gave a five star review, praising the location and setting, with The Guardian branding it an “absorbing drama that sensationally brings together two superlative performers”.

The trailer for Ammonite was released in August. It can be seen by searching for Ammonite trailer at bridportnews.co.uk