Asante to direct 'Belle'

LONDON -- Brit helmer Amma Asante is mounted on direct feature pic "Belle," with Damian Jones' shingle DJ Films creating. Story, occur the 1780s, follows a mixed-race girl that's adopted into an aristocratic family, who faces class and color prejudices. As she blossoms right into a youthful lady, she soon evolves rapport having a local vicar's boy, who is an advocate for slave emancipation. It has been some time since Asante makes a movie: the helmer-scribe formerly directed and composed "A Life-style," toplining Stephanie James, Gary Sheppeard and Nathan Johnson, which gained her the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award for many promising newcomer in 2005. "Belle," with a 6.5 million ($10.a million) budget and has been around development using the British Film Institute, that it received 13,000 ($20,289) of development gold coin, is skedded to lense next summer time. Asante has additionally re-written the most recent draft from the pic from the first draft composed by Misan Sagay ("The Key Laughter of ladiesInch). Johnson continues to be busy this season with Margaret Thatcher biopic "The Iron Lady," that the Weinstein Co. is delivering in Gotham and La on 12 ,. 30 before moving in the relaxation from the U.S. on Jan. 13. Johnson can also be presently lensing "Fast Women," helmed by Regan Hall and composed by Noel Clarke, which sees a youthful female runner in the wrong side from the tracks create a competition by having an equally ambitious and wealthy athlete. Johnson can also be creating Joe Strummer biopic "The Best Profile" with Film4, which, he states, continues to be searching for a helmer. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com