Sweetness in the Belly

Sweetness in the Belly is a 2019 drama film directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, based on the novel of the same name by Camilla Gibb.

Sweetness in the Belly
Film poster
Directed byZeresenay Berhane Mehari
Produced byJennifer Kawaja
Alan Moloney
Susan Mullen
Julia Sereny
Written byLaura Phillips
Based onSweetness in the Belly
by Camilla Gibb
StarringDakota Fanning
Wunmi Mosaku
Kunal Nayyar
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Music byTodor Kobakov
CinematographyTim Fleming
Edited bySusan Maggi
Production
company
Distributed byEntertainment One
Release date
  • September 7, 2019 (2019-09-07) (TIFF)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountryIreland
Canada
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

It had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.[2]

Plot

In the 1960s, Lilly, a British girl, is raised as a Muslim at a Sufi shrine in Morocco after being abandoned there by her parents. As a young woman in the early 1970s, she is sent to Ethiopia, where she falls in love with a doctor named Aziz, but they are separated when the Ethiopian Civil War begins.

Lilly escapes as a refugee to England. There she befriends Amina, a traumatized fellow immigrant who moves in with her. Lilly works as a nurse's aid at a hospital, where a kind doctor named Robin befriends her, but she resists his romantic interest as she hopes to be reunited with Aziz. She and Amina found an association to aid fellow immigrants and refugees in reunifying their scattered families.

Amina and her two children are reunited with her husband, who has been in an Ethiopian prison, and they move to Canada, but Lilly is shattered to learn that Aziz was executed. Robin helps her recover and she shares her story with him, telling him that she had been told her parents died of drugs.

Cast

Production

In January 2017, it was announced Saoirse Ronan had joined the cast of the film, with Zeresenay Berhane Mehari directing from a screenplay by Laura Phillips, based upon the novel of the same name by Camilla Gibb.[3] In November 2018, it was announced Dakota Fanning, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wunmi Mosaku and Kunal Nayyar joined the cast of the film, with Fanning replacing Ronan.[4][5]

Principal photography began in November 2018, in Ireland.[6] Production on the film also took place in Ethiopia.[7]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019.[8] In April 2020, Gravitas Ventures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and set it for a May 8, 2020, release.[9] Entertainment One will distribute in Canada.[10]

Reception

Sweetness in the Belly holds a 29% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.08/10.[11]

Trivia

The film received backlash for Dakota Fanning portraying the lead role in the film.[12] Amid the whitewashing allegations, Fanning took to social media to share more details about her character. "Just to clarify. In the new film I'm part of, Sweetness in the Belly, I do not play an Ethiopian woman," the 25-year-old actress wrote in a message on her Instagram Story. "I play a British woman abandoned by her parents at seven years old in Africa and raised Muslim."[13]

References
  1. "Sweetness in the Belly". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  2. "Sweetness in the Belly, Pompei land TIFF debuts". Playback, August 8, 2019.
  3. Barraclough, Leo (January 31, 2017). "Saoirse Ronan to Star in Romantic Drama 'Sweetness in the Belly'". Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  4. Roxborough, Scott (November 2, 2018). "AFM: Dakota Fanning Joins 'Sweetness in the Belly'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  5. Day-Ramos, Dino (November 2, 2018). "Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Joins Dakota Fanning In 'Sweetness In The Belly' Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  6. O'Grady, Sean (November 8, 2018). "Dakota Fanning spotted shooting Sweetness in the Belly in Dublin". The Independent. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. Nemiroff, Perri (September 20, 2019). "'Sweetness in the Belly' Cast & Director on the Importance of Filming in Ethiopia". Collider. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. Kay, Jeremy (August 8, 2019). "Toronto unveils Midnight Madness, Discovery, TIFF Docs, Cinematheque". Screen International. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  9. Grater, Tom (April 17, 2020). "Dakota Fanning Drama 'Sweetness In The Belly' Lands At Gravitas Ventures". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  10. Barraclough, Leo (February 6, 2019). "First Look at 'Sweetness in the Belly,' Starring Dakota Fanning (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. "Sweetness in the Belly (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. Obenson, Tambay (September 7, 2019). "'Sweetness in the Belly' Producers, Filmmaker Address Controversy Over Dakota Fanning Refugee Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. Jones, Marcus (September 5, 2019). "Dakota Fanning defends her new film in which she plays a British orphan raised Muslim in Ethiopia". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
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