Coming into this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, there have been quite a few films that have garnered headlines. Whether its “Hustlers,” “Knives Out,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” or “Lucy in the Sky,” there’s no shortage of A-list stars in high profile projects at TIFF. But in the early days of this year’s event, a lot of debate has surprisingly come from the drama “Sweetness in the Belly,” starring Dakota Fanning.
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After a tweet went viral, describing the character that Fanning plays in the film as a “white Ethiopian Muslim,” people understandably were upset. In a day and age where inclusivity and diversity is on the mind of many film fans, alarms probably would go off if you heard that the actress was playing a character with that description. However, according to Fanning (via EW), the whole situation is blown out of proportion.
Fanning responded on Instagram:
“I do not play an Ethiopian woman. I play a British woman abandoned by her parents at seven years old in African and raised Muslim. My character, Lilly, journeys to Ethiopia and is caught up in the breakout of civil war. She is subsequently sent ‘home’ to England, a place she is from but has never known. This film was partly made in Ethiopia, is directed by an Ethiopian man and features many Ethiopian women. It was a great privilege to be part of telling this story. This film is about what home means to people who find themselves displaced and the families and communities that they choose and that choose them.”
Judging by Fanning’s response, it’s clear that the actress was very aware of the controversy that could follow a film like ‘Sweetness.’ The film is directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and, as she said above, follows the story of a young woman forced to evaluate her identity and religion after being forced back to England after being raised as a Muslim person in Africa. “Sweetness in the Belly” is based on Camilla Gibb’s bestselling novel.
“Sweetness in the Belly” is scheduled to premiere this weekend at TIFF.