After partnering to bring the Fela! musical to Broadway, working on a remake of the classic film Annie and becoming the most high-profile investors in video sharing app Viddy, Jay-Z and Will Smith continue their joint mogul efforts by throwing their immense weight behind Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, a documentary about celebrated American political prisoner Angela Davis.
Produced by Realside Productions/De Films Aiguille and directed by Shola Lynch, Free Angela chronicles Davis’ activism and the events that lead to her being charged with first degree murder in the 1970 death of Judge Harold Haley, a charge for which she was eventually acquitted.
“Free Angela and All Political Prisoners is a documentary movie that asks how a bookish 26-year-old philosophy professor ends up on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and an international political icon in the early 1970s,” Lynch remarked about the film. “The story is a political crime drama with a love story in the middle and many questions that can’t be answered.”
The film marks the 40th anniversary of Davis’ acquittal and will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9.
“We at Overbrook Entertainment are very proud to support this intriguing documentary about the life of Angela Davis. Filmmaker Shola Lynch has done an incredible job in revealing a piece of American history we thought we all knew,” Jada Pinkett-Smith said in a statement.
“Shola Lynch has crafted an intricate and compelling film about Angela Davis,” Jay-Z added. “Roc Nation is honored to be a part of a creative collective that can present such a riveting story.”
Watch the trailer for Free Angela and All Political Prisoners below.
[Props: Deadline]
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