With “12 Years A Slave” take the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award over the weekend, it’s likely just the first of many accolades to come for the film, it’s director and cast, but don’t think for a moment that star Chiwetel Ejiofor is going to relax and bask in the awards season glow. It looks like the actor has yet another project lined up, and one that will re-team him with a director with whom he’s already experienced success with on the stage.
The rising U.K. theatre, The Young Vic, are expanding their reach into moviemaking, adapting their stage plays into film versions, and helping to kick off this initiative will be “A Season In The Congo,” set to be directed by Joe Wright. Over the summer, Wright and Ejiofor presented the play, tracking the rise and fall of Congo’s first democratically elected leader Patrice Lumumba, at the Young Vic to rave reviews and now they’ll be seeing if it can work on the big screen. There’s no word yet on who is penning the screenplay, but the production will shoot on location in Kinshasa, and not only that, November will be also see the release of a short spin-off film based on the play.
The project looks like another interesting turn from the ever fascinating Wright, while it provides Ejiofor with another substantial and complex leading role. While we’ll have to wait as more details emerge, for now you can see Ejiofor’s work on the stage with this trailer for the play. [The Guardian]
