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Viola Davis, my warrior, a gift for today's little girls

2022-09-20T08:20:27.460Z


Critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival, where it made its world premiere, and the debut at the top of the US charts, with 19 million dollars over the weekend, well beyond expectations, already make The Woman King by Gina Prince-Bythewood, with Viol ... (ANSA)


Critical acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival, where it made its world premiere, and the debut at the top of the US charts, with 19 million dollars over the weekend, well beyond expectations, already make

The Woman King

by Gina Prince-Bythewood, starring

Viola Davis

, one of the favorites in the Oscar race.

It is the story interpreted among others by Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and John Boyega.

the true story of the Agojie, the female military regiment that in 1823 protected the besieged in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey from European colonizers and the horrors of the slave trade.

Inspired by real characters, which the filmmaker (also co-author of the screenplay with Dana Stevens) summarized in the various warriors, the film stars Nanisca (Davis), general and indomitable leader of the Agojie.

The warriors, to defend the Dahomey people from the fearsome Oyo Empire, which is also in league with the Portuguese slave traders, guide the recruits to enter the regiment, through an arduous training program.

Among the new arrivals is the young Nawi (Mbedu), orphaned at birth and raised by a violent guardian who wants to force her into a marriage for money.

The girl proves to be an exceptional and ferocious soldier, albeit unwilling to follow the regimental rules that require not to marry or have children.

A path undertaken by women often veterans of terrible personal stories, ready to unite and fight by sacrificing everything for their people.

"Many times you allow others to define you, from a culture, from those who just say no. At 56 I realized I can define myself - explained Viola Davis in the Q&A with the audience at the Toronto International Film Festival - The Woman king it's for those who take risks by challenging people who have never believed a black woman could be the main character in a feature film or could lead him to the head of the box office. It's for all my fellow black actresses just waiting to have the opportunity to shine in a noble light and to be proud of it, as I am in this film ".

The Woman King "

I consider it my masterpiece - he underlined - because it represents everything I dreamed a film could be.

It is a story for the little girl I was six years old, traumatized and called 'ugly' not considered and left 'invisible'.

I see you Viola, and I see all the girls like you.

I tell you to stop running away, this is the gift for you and all little girls like you. "

The project was born from the Oscar-winning actress: "The story came to me in 2015, thanks to a story that Maria Bello had written - said Viola Davis, who is also a co-producer -. It was a seven-year journey for find the cast, the right director, the budget ".

The research for the characters is based on a book Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey by Stanley Alpern but also documentaries by Djamon Hounsou "who is a Dahomey and the one (Warrior Women, ed) who made Lupita Nyong 'o. Then I tried to see and read as much as possible about African women who survived a war after experiencing violence and abuse. I researched every aspect of the film. "

For Gina Prince-Bythewood "

Viola Davis would like the message that emerged from the film was "that we are worth. An important thing in a culture that still tells us otherwise. Women of color are still those who risk dying the most in childbirth; 75% of women. Victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are black girls, and if you are raped before the age of 18 and you are black, there is a 68% chance that you will happen again. There is a common perception that we see us as leftovers. what I keep saying is that I want to do for black girls today, what Cecily Tyson (African American actress who died in 2021 at the age of 98) did for me at age 7. Seeing her on TV represented the physical fulfillment of a dream, a hope".

Source: ansa

All life articles on 2022-09-20

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