Go behind the scenes with this brand new sneak peak at Fox Searchight’s upcoming period drama Belle, directed by Amma Asante, set for release on May 2, 2014. 

The period drama about the trials and tribulations of a mixed-race girl, in the 1700s, made its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.

It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Miranda Richardson, Tom Wilkinson, Sarah Gadon, Sam Claflin, and Matthew Goode. 

The story takes place in the 1780s, and is based on a true story – specifically, the true story of Dido Belle, a mixed-race woman raised as an aristocrat in 18th-century England. It follows Belle, adopted into an aristocratic family, who faces class and color prejudices. As she blossoms into a young woman, she develops a relationship with a vicar’s son who is an advocate for slave emancipation. 

Her full name was Dido Elizabeth Belle, born 1761, died 1804; she was the illegitimate daughter of John Lindsay (a white British Naval officer) and an African slave woman known only as Belle. 

Mbatha-Raw is of course playing the lead role. 

Tom Felton (from the Harry Potter movies), Sam Reid (playing Belle’s love interest), James Norton and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) co-star.