Best of 2023: Gina Prince-Bythewood, MPA Creator Award Recipient, Tells Her Story
*It’s our annual “Best of the Year” look back at some of our favorite interviews from the year.
An elite force of female soldiers, the Agojie, is all that stands between the African Kingdom of Dahomey and the combined forces of the Oyo Empire and Mahi people. The Oyo and Mahi plan to raid Dahomey villages and sell their captives to European slavers. We open on a Mahi village where raiders heat their machetes over a fire at night.
Best of Summer 2023: Gina Prince-Bythewood, MPA Creator Award Recipient, Tells Her Story
*It’s our annual “Best of Summer” look back at some (not all) of our favorite interviews from the past few months. This non-comprehensive look back includes the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the wonderful interviews that followed those two history-making films, chats with the talented folks behind Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, our profile of MPA Creator Award Recipient and filmmaker extraordinaire Gina Prince-Bythewood and more.
An elite force of female soldiers,
Gina Prince-Bythewood, MPA Creator Award Recipient, Tells Her Story
An elite force of female soldiers, the Agojie, is all that stands between the African Kingdom of Dahomey and the combined forces of the Oyo Empire and Mahi people. The Oyo and Mahi plan to raid Dahomey villages and sell their captives to European slavers. We open on a Mahi village where raiders heat their machetes over a fire at night. Their leader hears something in the tall grass surrounding them and quiets his men,
Best of 2022: “The Woman King” Director Gina Prince-Bythewood on Her Singular, Sweeping Historical Epic
It’s that time of year—we look back on a few of our favorite interviews from 2022 in our annual year-end list.
When director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s most recent film, The Old Guard, premiered on Netflix in July of 2020, the critically acclaimed action drama became one of the top 10 original launches in the platform’s history. Prince-Bythewood is following that with one of the most anticipated films of 2022,
Best of 2022: “The Woman King” DP Polly Morgan on Lensing Viola Davis in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Thrilling Epic
It’s that time of year—we look back on a few of our favorite interviews from 2022 in our annual year-end list.
A sweeping historical epic that blends intimacy and adventure is the kind of movie that The Woman King cinematographer Polly Morgan dreamed about making while growing up in West Sussex, England.
“My earliest memories were Close Encounters and Empire of the Sun.
Exploring the “State of the Film Industry” at the Middleburg Film Festival
As part of the Motion Picture Association’s 100th year, the leading advocate in advancing the business and art of storytelling for the film, television, and streaming industry has found a new way to be of service by becoming a sponsor of the Middleburg Film Festival. Now in its 10th year in operation, this festival has become a significant player in the windup to Oscar season. As part of their partnership with the MFF,
“The Woman King” Fight Choreographer Jénel Stevens on Raising a Warrior Army
There’s a reason that the battle sequences in The Woman King look so authentic. The actors, from star Viola Davis on down, worked for months to get into physical shape to play an army of women warriors. They learned all the right moves from a team of expert trainers that included fight choreographer Jénel Stevens.
A New York-based personal trainer with an extensive martial arts background, Stevens made the transition to movie stunt performer in 2015.
Trainer Gabriela Mclain on Getting “The Woman King” Cast into Fighting Shape
Talk about reading the room: actress-producer Maria Bello pitched The Woman King directly to Viola Davis in 2015 while standing at the podium to present her with a Women Making History Award. Davis immediately embraced the fact-based story about General Nanisca, who, in the 1820s, led an army of fierce 19th-century women warriors from the West African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). On September 16, The Woman King opened with Davis in the title role alongside co-stars Thuso Mbedu,
“The Woman King” Costume Designer Gersha Phillips on Outfitting History’s Fiercest Female Army
Intensity and discipline were trademarks of the Agojie warriors who defended the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. Their caliber of combat was so unmatched that one of their most unexpected traits often went undetected by their enemies.
“They fought with male warriors, so they would disguise themselves and look like men,” costume designer Gersha Phillips shared from her research. “There are several accounts of people who said when they came through their camp,
“The Woman King” Director Gina Prince-Bythewood on Her Singular, Sweeping Historical Epic
When director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s most recent film, The Old Guard, premiered on Netflix in July of 2020, the critically acclaimed action drama became one of the top 10 original launches in the platform’s history. Prince-Bythewood is following that with one of the most anticipated films of 2022, the historical epic The Woman King, the story of the Agojie, an elite all-female warrior unit charged with protecting the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s.
“The Woman King” DP Polly Morgan on Lensing Viola Davis in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Thrilling Epic
A sweeping historical epic that blends intimacy and adventure is the kind of movie that The Woman King cinematographer Polly Morgan dreamed about making while growing up in West Sussex, England.
“My earliest memories were Close Encounters and Empire of the Sun. Spielberg captured my imagination like many of my generation,” said Morgan over the phone from the Toronto International Film Festival, where The Woman King had its world premiere.
Viola Davis Reigns Supreme in “The Woman King” Trailer
We’ve got our first look at the Viola Davis-led The Woman King, one of the most intriguing films coming out this fall. This trailer is a thrilling glimpse at director Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s epic, which is based on true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, a powerful state on the African continent in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prince-Bythewood wrote the script with Dana Stevens (based a story from Maria Bello),
