Watch the trailer for Casey Affleck’s ‘Light of My Life,’ about a post-apocalyptic world without women

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH8a7yKe6rc

The first trailer for Casey Affleck’s “Light of My Life” debuted Tuesday night, giving viewers a first look at the Cambridge native’s first directorial effort in nine years.

With “Light of my Life,” the Cambridge native — who also wrote and stars in the film — has chosen an interesting premise: A post-apocalyptic drama set in a world without women.

In the movie, Affleck plays a father traveling on the margins with his daughter (Anna Pniowsky, “PEN15”), who is disguised as a boy nicknamed Rag to protect her from whatever harm might befall her after a plague killed all of the world’s women. Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Mad Men,”) is also shown in flashbacks as Rag’s mother.

After running into a man in the woods, word seems to spread about Rag, and the rest of the trailer shows the pair avoiding gangs of men.

“I’ll always be with you, even if someone tied me up and stabbed me and knocked me down and put me in a block of ice and dropped me to the bottom of the ocean,” Affleck says in dialogue overlaying a scene where he fights off a group of intruders. “Then I’ll get up and I’ll get free. I’ll come find you. And I’ll keep being your dad.”

Affleck’s directorial debut, 2010’s polarizing pseudo-documentary “I’m Still Here,” resulted in two now-settled lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and other misconduct by the Cambridge native during the making of the film. Affleck faced additional scrutiny about the “I’m Still Here” lawsuits during the height of the #MeToo movement, but denied that his film’s plot was influenced by his personal history.

“It’s not. I wrote this movie and made this movie before all of those things became part of the conversation,” Affleck said during a press conference following the film’s debut at the Berlin Film Festival in February. “I hope people keep their minds open and be responsible and measured in their reactions.”

Regardless of the film’s ties (or lack thereof) to Affleck’s real-world experiences, critics who saw “Light of My Life” in Berlin have been generally positive in their appraisals of the movie. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn wrote that the movie “casts an atmospheric spell,” while the Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney praised Affleck’s young co-lead, writing that “Pniowsky is a real discovery.”

“Light of My Life” will land simultaneously in select theaters, on digital platforms, and on demand on Aug. 9.