Actresses Millicent Simmonds and Rachel Brosnahan are set to star in the upcoming biopic, Helen & Teacher. The two performers were cast by the film’s director, Wash Westmoreland, who most notably co-wrote and co-helmed the Oscar-winning drama, Still Alice, Deadline is reporting.

Simmonds, whose breakout role was as Regan Abbott in the A Quiet Place series, will portray famous Deafblind activist Helen Keller in the upcoming movie. The performer has ties to the author and disability rights advocate, as they’re distant cousins.

Brosnahan, who has won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of the title character on Prime Video’s acclaimed comedy-drama series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, will portray Anne Sullivan in Helen & Teacher. Sullivan was Keller’s touch, but equally committed, translator and companion.

The biopic, which will be set during the early 1900’s, will follow Keller’s tumultuous time at Radcliffe College of Harvard University. While attending the school, her rapidly expanding worldview brought her into direct conflict with the more conservative Sullivan. When the teacher was courted by the young and brilliant publisher, John Macy, tensions escalated between the two women, which threaten the bonds of their friendship.

Helen & Teacher will be based on an original screenplay Westmoreland wrote with Laetitia Mikles. The screenwriting duo consulted with a team at Helen Keller National Center for Youth and Adults while they penned the script.

Principal photography on the film is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2022. Sukee Chew (The Silencing) and Pamela Koffler (Carol), while Victor Paul Wajnberg (Colette) will serve as producers, and Russ Posternak (Stowaway) will executive-producers, on the drama.

Westmoreland, who previously won the Humanitas Prize for screenwriting for Still Alice, commented on co-scribing and helming Helen & Teacher. He stated: “Most people only know of Helen Keller’s story from when she was a child. Helen & Teacher will look at her as a young adult when she developed a radical, world-changing political voice,” he noted.

“Today, when some TikTok threads dispute Helen Keller’s achievements and even her existence, it is time for a film that shows her relevance, her brilliance, and her unbreakable spirit,” the filmmaker added.