Aria Mia Loberti being directed by Shawn Levy in “All the Light We Cannot See.” Photo: Atsushi Nishijima/Netlfix

The cast and crew behind Netflix’s upcoming four-part limited series All the Light We Cannot See, which is set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, gave a special behind the scenes look into the show’s filmmaking process in a video released on Thursday.

The series, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Anthony Doerr, follows the intertwining stories of Marie-Laure — a blind French girl who with her father flees German-occupied Paris with a legendary diamond to keep it safe from the Nazis — and a German orphan named Warner, who works for the Nazis. Adapted to screen by Steven Knight, Shawn Levy serves as director and executive producer, while actress Aria Mia Loberti, who is visually impaired, plays Marie.

Loberti had no plans to become an actress, and the Netflix series was her first time auditioning for a role.

“Aria is someone who understands this character in her soul,” said Levy, adding that it was important for him “to have Marie played by someone who understands what it is like to walk that road” and be visually impaired.

“Maria’s experience of blindness is not a catalyst for the story necessarily,” explained Loberti, explaining that the storyline is “about her experience as a blind girl navigating love and loss in a time of war.”

Seven-year-old Nell Sutton, who is legally blind, was cast first as young Marie before Loberti was brought on board. Sutton said during filming she was “gonna keep Marie in my heart” and, like Loberti, was not a professional actor before All The Light We Cannot See. The audition for the project was her first ever.

In All the Light We Cannot See, Marie-Laure and her father are pursued by a ruthless Gestapo officer who wants the diamond for himself. The father and daughter find refuge in the seaside city of St. Malo, where they move in with a reclusive uncle (played by Hugh Laurie) who transmits secret radio broadcasts as part of the Nazi resistance. While there, Marie-Laure meets Werner (played by Louis Hofmann), a teenager recruited by Hitler’s regime to track down illegal broadcasts. Marie-Laure and Werner form a bond and share a secret as well as a sense of hope while World War II takes place around them. Levy described Werner as “this pure soul, being indoctrinated into evil to which he doesn’t subscribe.”

“Showing those two different types of people, living through war and turmoil is so important and I think so many of us will connect with their stories,” said Loberti.

“The story of war affects and changes the trajectories and lives of these two curious people who just wanna learn things, and the war prevents them from doing so,” noted Doerr. “All these decisions adults and politicians are making really affect and change the trajectories of these two curious people who just want to learn things and be allowed to educate themselves. And the war prevents them from doing so.”

Levy concluded by saying All the Light We Cannot See “is both timeless and timely, unabashedly human and emotional. It captured a certain epic scale that we’ve been truly privileged to bring to life.”

All the Light We Cannot See will make its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival later this month before being released Nov. 2 on Netflix.

Watch the behind the scenes video below.