Trailer for time-warping sci-fi drama LOLA

Set in 1940 England, LOLA is a sci-fi drama centered on enterprising sisters Thomasina “Thom” Hanbury (Emma Appleton, Everything I Know About Love, The Witcher, Pistol, Traitors) and Martha “Mars” Hanbury (Stefanie Martini, Prime Suspect 73, The Last Kingdom, Make Up, Crooked House) have built a machine, LOLA, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. The device gives them an exciting preview of the world to come, including music by the likes of David Bowie and the Kinks. But with World War II escalating, the sisters decide to use the machine as a weapon of intelligence, with world-altering consequences.

In his feature debut, director Andrew Legge employs a documentary-like approach to tell his story, which centers on footage discovered in old movie reel cans in a deserted house — footage that purportedly reveals the work of the eccentric sisters. Much of LOLA was shot with period cameras, the footage then home-processed in a vintage16mm developing tank in order to give the movie an authentically aged feel.

LOLA comes to theaters and VOD August 4, 2023.