WHO’S IN IT?
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Doctor Who), Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins), Miranda Richardson (Made in Dagenham), Penelope Wilton (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), Emily Watson (The Book Thief), Sarah Gadon (Cosmopolis), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Alex Jennings (The Queen), James Norton (Rush), Sam Reid (The Railway Man), James Northcote (Anna Karenina)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Amma Asante (A Way of Life), director; Misan Sagay (The Secret Laughter of Women), writer; Damian Jones (The Iron Lady), producer; Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules), composer; Ben Smithard (My Week With Marilyn), cinematographer; Victoria Boydell (The Awakening) and Pia Di Ciaula (Tyrannosaur), editors
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Dido Elizabeth Belle (Mbatha-Raw), the mixed-race illegitimate child of Royal Navy officer Captain John Lindsay (Goode), is brought to England to be raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Wilkinson) and his wife (Watson). She grows up as part of the aristocracy which offers her certain privileges but at the same time limits her social interaction due to her skin colour. However, when she meets and falls for the idealistic John Daviner (Reid), events are put into motion that will lead to the abolition of slavery in England…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Belle offers an exclusive portrait of the life of one of history’s most overlooked figures, who was in turn responsible for a major turning point for abolitionists in the United Kingdom.
