Amma Asante’s latest film since A United Kingdom has been acquired ahead of its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Set in Berlin in 1944, Where Hands Touch is a romantic drama that follows a biracial German teenager (played by Stenberg) who begins a friendship with a member of the Hitler youth (played by George MacKay).

Asante is directing from a script that she also wrote.  Joining Stenberg and MacKay in the cast are Abbie Cornish, Christopher Eccleston and Tom Sweet. Asante has referred to it previously as a passion project for her.

Vertical Entertainment has scooped up the North American rights to the film ahead of its premiere.

The film will be released in theaters on September 14.

Last year, Asante spoke to IndieWire about potential backlash to the film. She said in part, “My passion has been to shine a light on the existence of the children of colour who were born and raised under Hitler. These children were also persecuted and my wish has been to explore how Black and Bi-racial identity was perceived and experienced under Nazi facist rule. The young girl’s experience in ‘Where Hands Touch,’ sits alongside the Jewish experience and the experience of others who were persecuted. It looks at how Germany became Nazi Germany and ‘slept walked’ itself into a disgusting and murderous state that resulted in it killing its own people and those of other countries.

Leyna’s story (Amandla Stenberg) is told in this sad and terrifying context. My reasons for making this film sit around my concerns of the current climate but also a continued and growing intolerance of racial and religious difference, that we all have sensed for many years and which is becoming even worse now. As a filmmaker, my wish is to center on bringing attention to this through my work.

Amandla and I teamed together to shine a light on the hatred that Nazi Germany visited on Europe and to make a film that might contribute to the dialogue of how we fight this horrific racial and religious ignorance today, along with the intolerances visited on the many other marginalized groups and intersections.” You can read that full interview here.