A RED carpet event will be staged for the exclusive world premiere screening of a Dorset-shot film about the final years of TE Lawrence.

Poole Lighthouse will showcase Lawrence: After Arabia, an eagerly anticipated new film on Saturday October 9 with all proceeds in aid of Lighthouse.

Shot in Dorset, the film features Olivier and Golden Globe winning Scottish actor Brian Cox and stars Bournemouth actor Tom Barber Duffy in the title role, alongside a largely local cast and crew.

The film focuses on the events that led up to Lawrence’s mysterious death following a motorcycle accident near Bovington Camp on May 13, 1935.

Dorset Echo: Tom Barber Duffy as TE LawrenceTom Barber Duffy as TE Lawrence

Thomas Edward Lawrence, often referred to as Lawrence of Arabia, was a British Intelligence Officer who fought alongside Arab guerrilla forces in the Middle East during the First World War. Following the war, he lived in a cottage near Wareham until his death at the age of 46.

His exploits during the war served as inspiration for the classic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia which starred Peter O’Toole.

Lawrence: After Arabia has been a labour of love for writer-director Mark JT Griffin, the result of a long-held fascination with the life of Lawrence that dates back to his childhood discovery of war artist Eric Kennington’s life-size effigy of the national hero in Arab dress that lies in the 1000-year-old St Martin’s Church in Wareham.

The film was ready for release last year but has been rescheduled several times due to the pandemic.

Despite this, Lawrence: After Arabia has won a series of prestigious international film awards in lockdown including Best Feature at both the Florence Film Awards and IndieFEST Film Awards where Tom Barber-Duffy also won Best Actor.

The films soundtrack was contributed to by music legends Rick Wakeman and Bruce Woolley.

For more information, visit: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk.