Belle

Belle is a British period drama directed by Amma Asante. The film is based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the mixed-race child of a British Navy Admiral raised in the upper-class by her Great-Uncle, the Lord Chief Justice. The social norms at the time afforded her the status of being an aristocrat, but cast her as an outsider, never quite fitting in. She happens to fall in love with a young lawyer who tries to sway the opinion of her Great-Uncle as he considers a court case that would pave the way for the end of slavery in England. The film co-stars Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, and Tom Felton.

The inspiration behind Belle was a painting seen by the film’s writer, Misan Sagay, while touring through Scotland. The painting depicts two girls walking side by side smiling. “The black woman [Dido Elizabeth Belle] in the painting was not named in the House Guide, so I did some further research to find the two women were actually relatives,” says Sagay. “As a writer and a black woman I was dedicated to finding these stories of other black women in a time when they had little voice.” It turned out that Sagay’s son’s Godmother was a friend of a descendant of the family in the film, allowing her full access to information about the family’s history.

Belle is rated PG.

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