After her Oscar nomination for Brooklyn Saoirse Ronan is set to star in another book adaptation, this time of Camilla Gibb's Sweetness in the Belly. The 2005 novel tells the story of Lilly, a refugee living in London. Having to leave her own home to return to the home of her dead parents, she finds herself trying to piece together both aspects of her identity. In England, she waits for her lost lover, a doctor named Aziz, whom she was forced to leave in Ethiopia.
The film will be directed by Zeresenay “Zee” Berhane Mehari, whose premiere movie Difret won the audience award at Sundance 2014 and was produced by Angelina Jolie. The screenplay was written by Laura Phillips, and Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Sienna Films are producing along with Alan Moloney and Susan Mullen from Parallel Films.