Sweetness in the Belly

Abandoned in Africa as a child, following a visit to the Sufi shrine in Bilal al Habash, Lilly is taken in by the shrine’s spiritual leader Great Abdal and brought up there as a devoted Muslim. At 17, she leaves for Ethiopia, where she falls in love with an idealistic doctor. With civil war looming, danger grows. Lilly is forced to flee to England. She finds home in a friendship with Amina, a refugee from Ethiopia who has fled the same war, and together they begin a mission to reunite people with their scattered families. We soon discover that Lilly’s mission isn’t purely selfless and Amina has buried a secret that she is trying to flee.

Directed by

Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

Based on the novel by

Camilla Gibb

Executive producers

Laura Bickford
Fiona Druckenmiller
Patrick Roy
Christina Kubacki
Mehret Mandefro
Adrian Sturges

Cast

Dakota Fanning
Wunmi Mosaku
Kunal Nayyar
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Written by

Laura Phillips

Production

Parallel Films
Sphere Media (formerly Sienna Films)