Aldeburgh gets a welcome slice of international film glamour on Friday when director Joel Hopkins brings his latest star-filled movie home for a local premiere.

The new film, The Love Punch, stars Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson, Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall in a free-wheeling caper movie that also doubles as a romantic comedy. Set in Paris and on the Riveria, the film has a sunny glamour to it where both the action and the personalities are larger-than-life.

The stars accompanying Joel Hopkins to the screening will be Celia Imrie, who made her name with Victoria Wood and with films like Calendar Girls, and Timothy Spall, who first came to fame in the brickie comedy Auf Wiedersehen Pet and has gone onto star in the Harry Potter series and Mike Leigh’s Topsy Turvy.

Aldeburgh Cinema manager Thomas Gerstenmeyer said that The Love Punch was a middle-aged feel-good movie set in the beautiful idyll of the Côte d’Azur. “The ensemble cast play off each other nicely, especially Brosnan and Thompson as they bite their lips in deference to their own best interests.

“It will also pay to watch out for a few clever running gags, which the less tech-savvy will recognise with wry resignation.”

The premiere came about when Joel’s parents Sir Michael and Patti Hopkins contacted the cinema asking if they would screen the film. “They are great supporters of the cinema and said that Joel would love to screen his latest film here and would be willing to bring down some of the actors to take part in a question and answer session at the end of the screening.

“We love special events, especially Q&As, so we immediately said yes.”

Joel shot to fame with Last Chance Harvey about a mid-life romance between Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson who stumble across one another at a London wedding.

The local premiere of The Love Punch will at Aldeburgh Cinema on Friday May 9 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the cinema website