Collider:
Kasi Lemmons to Adapt ‘The Shadow King,’ the True Story of Female Ethiopian WWII Soldiers
After helming the tales of Harriet Tubman in Harriet and C.J. Walker in Self Made, filmmaker Kasi Lemmons is turning her sights to a new true story, seldom heard in our annals of history. Lemmons will be writing and directing the film adaptation of historical novel The Shadow King — a story worth telling and then some.
The Shadow King, originally written by Maaza Mengiste, tells the real story of Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, and the heroic female soldiers who fought back. Of working on adapting the novel, Lemmons said this: “Maaza Mengiste’s mesmerizing novel takes my breath away. The imagery is so rich and powerful and the characters so vividly drawn, it naturally lends itself to adaptation. I’m very honored to be a part of bringing this brilliant book to the screen.”
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Related:
Maaza Mengiste Wins 2020 Literature Prize from American Academy of Arts & Letters
Spotlight: Three Great Reviews of Maaza Mengiste’s New Book by NYT, WSJ & NPR
Tadias 10 Arts & Culture Stories of 2019
Maaza Mengiste’s Outstanding New Essay on Refugees