Don’t be surprised to hear Rachel Weisz’s name mentioned when speculation about the 2017 Oscar nominees heats up. “Denial,” the British actress’s upcoming courtroom drama, has been given an awards-friendly release date of September 30, suggesting that Bleecker Street sees the film as a serious contender come awards season. Weisz won an Academy Award in 2005 for her supporting role in political thriller “The Constant Gardener.”

“Denial” is based on Deborah E. Lipstadt’s acclaimed 2006 book “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.” Weisz will portray Lipstadt in the film, which centers on her legal battle with author David Irving, who sued her in 1996. Irving accused Lipstadt of libel after she identified some of his works and statements as Holocaust denial. Lipstadt is a former consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is currently a Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University.

David Hare (“The Reader,” “The Hours”) adapted Lipstadt’s book for the big-screen, and Mick Jackson (“Temple Grandin”) directed. Timothy Spall (“The King’s Speech,” “Harry Potter”) plays Irving.

Weisz has a number of projects set for release in 2016, including the hotly anticipated Derek Cianfrance romance-drama “The Light Between Oceans,” starring Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”) and Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”). She’s also busy off-screen: The “Youth” star was honored at Variety’s Power of Women: New York last year for her work with Opportunity Network, an agency that levels the playing field for low-income high school and college students for access to jobs.

You can catch Weisz in “The Lobster,” in theaters now.