Amma Asante Unveils First Glimpse of ‘Belle’

LONDON – BAFTA Award Winner Amma Asante has released the first production still from her sophomore movie effort, the period drama Belle.

The movie, written by Misan Sagay, stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the title role alongside an ensemble cast that reads like a who’s who of British actors.

The movie’s cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Sam Reid, Tom Felton, Matthew Goode, James Norton and Emily Watson.

Produced by Damian Jones, whose previous credits include the Academy Award-winning The Iron Lady, Belle marks Asante’s second film as director following the award-winning A Way of Life in 2004.

The project is billed as a tale of passion and romance. It tells the story of a mixed–race girl raised as an aristocratic lady in 18th century England.

It shot on the Isle Of Man, London, Oxford, as well as Pinewood Studios and is due to wrap Nov. 9.

Bankside Films is handling worldwide sales, with the Isle Of Man’s CinemaNX on board to distribute in the U.K.