Musician FKA twigs will further her push into acting when she portrays legendary entertainer Josephine Baker in an upcoming biopic directed by Maimouna Doucouré and produced by Studiocanal.
The as-yet-untitled project chronicles Baker’s early years in the United States to her rise as a global star in Paris in the late 1920s, navigating the social and political challenges of her time. Beyond her stage career, Baker was a committed civil rights activist and a French Resistance spy during World War II, leaving a lasting legacy as both an artist and humanitarian.
“Josephine Baker’s extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people around the world,” says Twigs, who last year starred alongside Nicolas Cage in the thriller The Carpenter’s Son and acts in the new Anne Hathaway film Mother Mary. “She lives on in our hearts as a visionary, ground-breaking woman whose story is as powerful as it is relevant today. I cannot wait to embody Josephine Baker [by] bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen.”
“Josephine Baker has lived with me for years,” adds writer/director Maimouna Doucouré. “Working on this film, I realize how modern, fearless and complex she was. Beyond the legend, I want to explore her contradictions, her wounds and her immense courage, as well as her relentless fight for dignity. With the extraordinary FKA twigs bringing her rare artistry, intelligence and emotional depth to the role, it is a huge honor to work with Studiocanal to bring Josephine’s story to the screen for a global audience: the story of a woman who never stopped reinventing herself and fighting for justice and equality.”
The movie is being developed with the support of Baker’s sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker. Twigs will also be seen in tandem with Sturgill Simpson and Will Oldham in the upcoming film The Lonely Woman, which stars Chloë Sevigny and will serve as the first feature directed by electronic duo Boy Harsher (Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller).
