The Academy Award-nominated actor and author behindThis Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare,Gabourey Sidibe, will make her feature directorial debut with the upcoming thrillerPale Horse. The story follows the reclusive African-American author Naia who is living with MS. Her solitary and quiet life disintegrates when she agrees to shelter a stranger who has escaped captivity with her long-lost brother. The same duo beyondDear White PeopleandRocket Science,Effie T. BrownandWellington Love, will co-produce on behalf of Gamechanger Films.
Sidibe is arguably best known for her career-catalyzing turn inPrecious, which earned her both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination. She has since gone on to star inRyan Murphy’s acclaimed anthologyAmerican Horror Story, the recent horror filmAntebellum, the action-comedyTower Heist,Come as You Are,Yelling to the Sky, and more.
Speaking about the upcoming project, the young filmmaker shared, “I’m super excited to work with Gamechanger on my first feature! This project is a true stand-out and the character of ‘Naia' is a Bad Ass! Effie and Wellington are powerhouse visionaries and I’m so excited to be able to work with them to create this gripping thriller with complex characters.”
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Gamechanger Films is a production company and development fund dedicated to backing stories that are by and about women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities. The company has producedPassing,The Invitation,Addicted to Fresno, and The Strange Ones.
Brown spoke about her excitement working with Gamechanger and Sidibe, and noted her commitment to shining a light on what it takes to create a film:
“Stories likePale Horseare long overdue in the entertainment industry and Gamechanger is dedicated to financing and producing them: entertaining films that offer diversity in story-telling, characters, and filmmakers. In addition to our development and producing commitments, we plan to demystify the process of production through our social and partnership channels, pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to create a film. We want people of all communities to feel included in and empowered by this process. I have known Gabourey for some time and am always impressed with her skills as a storyteller, both as an actor or author. She will be an incredible force behindPale Horse.”
A release date and casing information has yet to be announced, so be sure to check back with Collider for information surrounding Sidibe’s directorial debut.
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