A blockbuster film which threw Weymouth into the spotlight is a frontrunner for nominations in this year’s BAFTA awards. 

Dunkirk, the wartime epic directed by Christopher Nolan, has been nominated for eight different categories ahead of the 2018 ceremony.

It is up for the coveted Best Film award alongside Call Me By Your Name and Darkest Hour as well as Golden Globe winners The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 

The film, starring big names such as Sir Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Harry Styles and Cillian Murphy, turns the clock back to one of the largest evacuations in British military history, when 330,000 allied troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 after being trapped by German forces. 

The story is told through the eyes of a soldier and his comrades, two RAF fighter pilots and a family whose civilian boat becomes part of the hastily assembled evacuation fleet. 

Excitement surrounded the production crew’s visit to Weymouth to shoot scenes for the film in 2016. 

A large amount of the much-anticipated blockbuster was filmed on location, and the limelight turned to the resort when Nolan and cast members descended on the harbour for shooting.

Passers-by enjoyed an exciting week watching areas of the harbour quayside transform back to 1940. Historic vehicles lined the harbour and a fleet of heritage vessels were moored along the quay wall. 

Some scenes starring Harry Styles were also shot along Swanage Railway.

The highly anticipated film earned rave reviews with it being described as ‘heroically British’ and Nolan’s ‘best film so far’.

It was also praised for its stripped back approach to storytelling, which involved sparse dialogue and bleak settings. 

Dunkirk has also been nominated for Best Film Music, Best Special Visual Effects, Best Direction, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.

The 71st BAFTAs will take place on February 18 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.