A gripping trailer has been released for “Denial,” Rachel Weisz’s upcoming courtroom drama. The hotly anticipated film was just given an Oscar-friendly release date of September 30, and the trailer makes a strong case that it could be a serious contender come awards season.

“Denial” is based on Deborah E. Lipstadt’s acclaimed 2006 book “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.” Weisz portrays Lipstadt in the film, which centers on her legal battle with author David Irving (Timothy Spall, “The King’s Speech”), who sued her in 1996. Irving accused Lipstadt of libel after she identified some of his works and statements as Holocaust denial.

David Hare (“The Reader,” “The Hours”) adapted Lipstadt’s book for the big-screen, and Mick Jackson (“Temple Grandin”) directed.

“This case is happening to you, but it’s not about you,” Lipstadt is told in the trailer. Regardless of this distinction, she’s at the center of a maelstrom. And she’s concerned that the outcome of the trial could mean “suddenly it becomes acceptable to say the Holocaust didn’t happen.” Lipstadt is forced to deal with anti-Semitic threats, accusations of thwarting freedom of speech, and the task of proving that the Holocaust did indeed occur. (As Lipstadt emphasizes in the footage, “Not all opinions are equal.”)

The real-life 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.

Check out the tense trailer for “Denial” below. We predict that Weisz, who won an Oscar in 2005 for her supporting role in political thriller “The Constant Gardener,” will be getting a lot of attention for her performance.