Taglines: Ordinary women. Extraordinary heroes.
A Call to Spy Movie Storyline. In the beginning of WWII, with Britain becoming desperate, Churchill orders his new spy agency — the Special Operations Executive (SOE) — to recruit and train women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. SOE’s “spymistress,” Vera Atkins (Stana Katic), recruits two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas), an ambitious American with a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Atpe), a Muslim pacifist. Together, these women help to undermine the Nazi regime in France, leaving an unmistakable legacy in their wake. Inspired by true stories.
A Call to Spy (also known as Liberté: A Call to Spy) is a 2019 American historical drama film written and produced by Sarah Megan Thomas and directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher. The film is inspired by the true stories of three women who worked as spies in Churchill’s Secret Army. It stars Sarah Megan Thomas as Virginia Hall, Radhika Apte as Noor Inayat Khan, and Stana Katic as Vera Atkins.
A Call to Spy had its world premiere on June 21, 2019 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and will be released the United States on October 2, 2020, in theaters and on video on demand.
Sarah Megan Thomas wrote the original screenplay based on years of research, which included reading historical records. To prepare to play Virginia Hall, Sarah Megan Thomas interviewed Virginia Hall’s living relatives. Filming was done in Philadelphia and Budapest, both of which also provided tax credits to the production.
Pilcher has said that she was drawn to this story because she felt a story about the power of multiculturalism was relevant to the current-day rise of nationalism and extremism, and she wanted to feature a story about these women who hadn’t gotten enough attention in history. To prepare for the role of Noor Inayat Khan, Radhika Apte did a lot of research, which included reading about the historical people as well as watching spy movies and reading classic novels that were relevant to the character.
A Call to Spy (2020)
Directed by: Lydia Dean Pilcher
Starring: Sarah Megan Thomas, Stana Katic, Radhika Apte, Linus Roache, Rossif Sutherland, Samuel Roukin, Andrew Richardson, Laila Robins, Marc Rissmann, Mathilde Ollivier, Marceline Hugot
Screenplay by: Sarah Megan Thomas
Production Design by: Kim Jennings
Cinematography by: Robby Baumgartner, Miles Goodall
Film Editing by: Paul Tothill
Costume Design by: Vanessa Porter
Set Decoration by: Alexander Linde
Art Direction by: Sam Bader
Music by: Lillie Rebecca McDonough
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong violence, disturbing images, language, and smoking.
Distributed by: IFC Films
Release Date: June 21, 2019 (Edinburgh), October 2, 2020 (United States)
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