Emma Thompson, Anna Friel and Christopher Eccleston are on board Hear me roar, A film that tells the story of a transgender woman who faced the British government in a legal battle over her marriage.
Amy Cobb's Portrait tells the story of Elizabeth Bellinger, who became one of the few transgender people in Britain to marry in the 1980s. She kept this ceremony a secret from almost everyone until 2000 when she launched a campaign to have her marriage to Michael Bellinger legally recognized and take the case to the courts. The drama begins with her meeting with attorney Ashley Bayston, who co-wrote the film with head writer Lisa McMullen, and charts the course of the resulting complex legal hurdles they navigate over the next three years.
Two-time Academy Award winner Thompson plays the judge in the case, Elizabeth Butler Sloss. Friel has been cast as Bayston, Rebecca Root as Bellinger and Eccleston is her husband, while the picture also stars Julian Ovenden (Bridgerton).
Thompson said: “I'm crying like a baby, it's so moving, powerful and funny. It's a wonderful story and script with wonderful characters – I loved it and it moved me so deeply. I think it's both wonderful and deeply meaningful and necessary.”
Coop added: “It is an honor to be working with such a fantastic team to tell this incredible story, a neglected part of modern British history that represents a seismic shift for members of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Producers are Darren Stewart, whose credits include death penalty And the documentary Stone by stoneAnd David Nicholls (Everest, The Tourist, William Tell).
