Vanessa Kirby to star in Pieces of a Woman

Vanessa Kirby has been cast in 'Pieces of a Woman'.

'The Crown' star will be joined by Shia LeBeouf in the drama, which is to be directed by Hungarian filmmaker Kornel Mondruczo. He was previously honoured at the Cannes Film Festival for his 2014 feature 'White God'.

The story follows a woman grieving after a home birth goes tragically wrong, thrusting her into an emotional inner journey by trying to come to terms with her loss while also dealing with the ramifications in her relationships with her husband and estranged mother.

'Pieces of a Woman' is backed by Little Lamb Productions, which is also behind the hit HBO show 'Euphoria'. It will be produced by Kevin Turen and Ashley Levinson. The script has been written by Kata Weber.

Vanessa, 31, won a BAFTA for her portrayal of Princess Margaret in 'The Crown' and has since featured in action films such as 'Mission Impossible - Fallout' and 'Hobbs & Shaw'.

'Transformers' star Shia, 33, has enjoyed a success with the 'The Peanut Butter Falcon' and is also set to star in semi-autobiographical drama 'Honey Boy'.

'The Peanut Butter Falcon' featured Shia and Zack Gottsagen, who has Down's syndrome. Shia admitted that working with Zack changed his perspective on life.

Speaking to HeyUGuys, he explained: "I was raised on Nirvana and 'The Simpsons', and I have a real cynical gene in me that sort of overwhelms the naive-cutesy side of me.

"Then you get around Zack long enough and you start feeling the effects. I would just say Zack. Zack has an effect on everyone he's around, and it's a softening effect."

Production will begin in December in Montreal.