Tessa Thompson leads cast of The Listener

Tessa Thompson will lead the cast of 'The Listener'.

The 38-year-old actress stars in the contained movie that has been directed by Steve Buscemi and was filmed in Los Angeles across August and September.

The flick tells the story of Beth (Thompson), a helpline volunteer who is part of the small army that is on the phone every night across the United States, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken and hopeless.

The plot description reads: "Over the last year, the tide has become a tsunami, and as Beth goes through her shift, the stakes rise: is this the night she will lose someone? Save someone? Put a mind at ease? Make someone smile?

"Eventually, Beth's own story comes to light, revealing why she does it. All along we remain with her: listening, comforting, connecting – patching the world back together, one stitch at a time."

The film was written by Alessandro Camon and has been produced by Steve and Wren Arthur under their Olive Productions banner along with Tessa and Oren Moverman for Sight Unseen Pictures.

Verve are handling domestic sales for the movie and are eyeing a premiere at a major film festival next year.

Tessa previously starred in the title role in the romantic drama 'Sylvie's Love' – which is set in the 1950s – and loved wearing vintage costumes during the film.

The 'Creed' star said: "They were actual clothes from the 1950s, we had no money so to capture the period we just used a lot of vintage clothes. We had some beautiful, exquisite pieces but we also had literally the smell of history on them!

"I took a couple of the pointy bras home and thought I would bring that aesthetic back, but I haven't quite managed it!"