MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA, Mass. -- Lights, camera, action: Manchester-by-the-Sea is the backdrop for a new Matt Damon movie of the same name.

Damon is producing the independent film with the working title "Manchester-by-the-Sea." Scenes are being shot in the Massachusetts town as well as in nearby Beverly, Gloucester and Salem.

The Salem News reports the movie tells the story of the working-class Chandler family. Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler, who gains legal guardianship of his nephew following the sudden death of his brother.

Filming got underway in the coastal communities north of Boston last week and is expected to run into April.