After some frustrating years, things are falling Amma Asante’s way at the moment. With her new films, A United Kingdom, opening the BFI London Film Festival next month, she’s now hard at work put her lifelong passion project together. That film, wartime romance Where Hands Touch, has just added George MacKay to its ranks.
MacKay, currently on our screens in Captain Fantastic, will play co-lead to Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) in a movie that majors on the themes of love, isolation and prejudice Asante has tapped into with Belle and now A United Kingdom. Stenberg is a biracial German teenager and MacKay the young Hitler Youth member with whom she begins a risky friendship.
"I want to tell stories about the things that matter to me,” Asante told Empire last month. "That thing of isolated characters will probably resonate through everything I do ever.”
The filmmaker, who wrote the script for Where Hands Touch and is producing it under her own Tantrum Films marque, will be on the Leicester Square red carpet to get her hometown's film festival underway on 5 October.
 After some frustrating years, things are falling Amma Asante’s way at the moment. With her new films, *[A United Kingdom](http://www.empireonline.com/people/amma-asante/belle-amma-asante-directing-united-kingdom/ )*, opening the BFI London Film Festival next month, she’s hard at work put her lifelong passion project together. That film, wartime romance *Where Hands Touch*, has just added [George MacKay](http://www.empireonline.com/people/george-mackay/) to its ranks. MacKay, currently on our screens in *Captain Fantastic*, will play co-lead to Amandla Stenberg (*The Hunger Games*) in a movie that majors on the themes of love, isolation and prejudice Asante has tapped into with *Belle* and now *A United Kingdom*. Stenberg is a biracial German teenager and MacKay the young Hitler Youth member with whom she begins a risky friendship. "I want to tell stories about the things that matter to me,” Asante told *Empire* last month. "That thing of isolated characters will probably resonate through everything I do ever.” The filmmaker, who wrote the script for *Where Hands Touch* and is producing it under her own Tantrum Films marque, will be on the Leicester Square red carpet to get her [hometown's film festival underway on 5 October](http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/european-premiere-united-kingdom-open-60th-bfi-london-film).){kind=link}