DreamWorks announced today that filming is now underway in southwest France on director Lasse Hallström’s (Chocolat) adaptation of the Richard C. Morais novel The Hundred-Foot Journey.  The film centers on the rivalry between an Indian restaurant that is 100 feet away from a three-Michelin-star restaurant in France, with the eccentric French chef reluctantly forming a bond with the young Indian boy whose family owns the quaint Indian restaurant.  Helen Mirren is set to play the aforementioned chef, while Manish Dayal (90210) will play the Indian boy.

Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) wrote the script, and the film is being produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Juliet Blake.  The cast also includes Charlotte Le Bon and Om Puri, and the film is slated for release on August 8, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the official synopsis.

Here’s the full press release with the synopsis in bold:

BURBANK, Calif. (October 9, 2013) – Production has begun in southwest France on “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” based on the best-selling novel by Richard C. Morais. Starring Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren, and directed by Oscar® nominee Lasse Hallström, the film will be released on August 8, 2014 in the U.S.

In “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own escalate to all out war between the two establishments – until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory’s enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory's culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan's gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” abounds with flavors that burst across the tongue. A stimulating triumph over exile, blossoming with passion and heart, with marjoram and madras, it is a portrayal of two worlds colliding and one boy’s drive to find the comfort of home, in every pot, wherever he may be.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is directed by acclaimed Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominee Lasse Hallström from a script by Steven Knight and is based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais. The movie’s producers are Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake. The film’s executive producers are Caroline Hewitt and Carla Gardini.  Raphael Benoliel is co-producer.

The filmmakers of “The Hundred-Foot Journey” also include production designer David Gropman (“August: Osage County,” “Life Of Pi”), costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud (“Cloud Atlas,” “Albert Nobbs”) director of photography Linus Sandgren (“American Hustle,” “Promised Land”) and editor Andrew Mondshein (“Safe Haven,” “The Odd Life of Timothy Green”).

DreamWorks Studios is producing, with Participant Media co-financing. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling foreign sales to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, DreamWorks’ partner Reliance will distribute in India, with Disney handling the remaining international territories. Disney will distribute the film theatrically in the U.S.