The eagerly-awaited film based on the life of Lyme Regis fossil hunter Mary Anning will go on general release on Friday, March 26.

Called Ammonite, it has been three years in the making, with director Francis Lee – best known for the award-winning God’s Own Country – revealing earlier this year how he found inspiration on his first research trip to Lyme Regis in January 2018.

He said he went on a fossil hunting walk with local expert Paddy Howe and returned home “inspired” and wrote the first draft script for the film.

Ammonite’s release later this week comes two years after filming took place in Lyme.

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet plays the working class 19th century fossil hunter as she develops an intense bond with a more privileged young woman, Charlotte Murchison, played by Saoirse Ronan, who is sent to convalesce by the sea. The story explores the themes of class and same sex relationships.

Several areas of Lyme were taken over and transformed for the making of Ammonite.

Filming took place over several weeks in March 2019 at various locations, including the Cobb and Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis and Charmouth Beach.

Fossil Films donated £15,000 to the town council as a thank-you for allowing use of the Bell Cliff area, which was transformed with elaborate props and sets to resemble life in the 1800s.

The movie was selected for several film festivals last year, many held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a preview screening was held in a number of cinemas in this country as part of the British Film Festival in October.

The critics love the film, with some describing it as a “cinematic masterpiece”. Ammonite was also listed in a Best Films of 2021 preview by British film magazine Empire and it was

nominated for a BAFTA award.

After at first being ‘long-listed’ last month in a number of categories, the short-list released earlier this month revealed that Ammonite was in with a chance of winning an award for Best Costume Design.

Ammonite will face competition in this category from The Dig, Emma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Mank.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony without a live audience on April 11.