Charles Dance's directorial debut, Ladies In Lavender, has kicked off seven weeks of principal photography in Cornwall, London and at Pinewood Studios.

Good Bye, Lenin! star Daniel Bruhl plays Andrea, a handsome and charismatic Polish castaway who is discovered by two spinsters - played by Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith - on the beach below their house.

Set in a tight-knit Cornish fishing village in the 1930's, the two spinsters lives are turned upside down by the discovery.

Dance wrote the script for the film, which is adapted from a William J. Locke short story of the same name.

The cast also includes Miriam Margolyes, Natasha McElhone, David Warner, Freddie Jones , Clive Russell and Toby Jones.

Ladies In Lavender is a Scala Production, produced by Nik Powell, Nicolas Brown and Elizabeth Karlsen.

Financed by the UK Film Council's Premiere Fund, Baker Street Media Finance and Paradigm Hyde Films Limited, UK distribution rights are held by Entertainment Film Distributors and international sales are being handled by Lakeshore Entertainment.