The Woman King

Composer

TERENCE BLANCHARD

Director

GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD

MODERATED BY JAZZ TANGCAY (Variety)

Tuesday, November 22, 7:00PM PT

Please be mindful of the SCL’s Code of Conduct.

The Woman King is a historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.

PG-13 | 135mins

Terence Blanchard is a two-time Oscar nominee and six-time Grammy winner who has been a consistent artistic force for making powerful musical statements concerning painful American tragedies – past and present. From his expansive work composing the scores for almost 20 Spike Lee projects over three decades, Blanchard has interwoven beautiful melodies that created strong backdrops to human stories. Blanchard previously received Oscar nominations for his original score for Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods. More recently, Blanchard has composed his second opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on the memoir of celebrated writer and The New York Times columnist Charles Blow, the first opera composed by an African American composer to premiere at the Met. Blanchard’s first opera, Champion also premiered to critical acclaim in 2013 and will be coming to the Met in April 2023. Some of Blanchard’s other film and television credits include Kasi Lemmons’ films, Eve’s Bayou and Harriet; Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami…; the critically acclaimed drama series Perry Mason; and Apple TV’s docuseries They Call Me Magic for which he received an Emmy nomination. His most recent film projects include The Woman King directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood starring Viola Davis which was released in September; A Jazzman’s Life written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry for which Blanchard arranged and produced songs; and the Apple TV+ documentary Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues which is directed by Sacha Jenkins and produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Documentaries and was released on October 28, 2022.

In his thirtieth year as a recording leader, Blanchard delivers Absence, a masterwork of sonic zest in collaboration with his longtime E-Collective band and the acclaimed Turtle Island Quartet.

Gina Prince-Bythewood is an award-winning director/writer/producer who is one of the most versatile storytellers working in film and television. Known for her authentic character-driven work, Prince-Bythewood has directed and written such influential feature films as Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond The Lights. Prince-Bythewood most recently directed the historical epic, The Woman King, for Sony’s TriStar Pictures. The film is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Prince-Bythewood also recently directed the critically-acclaimed action drama blockbuster, The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne. The feature film is among the Top 10 most popular Netflix films of all time with Prince-Bythewood becoming the first Black female director on the list. Prince-Bythewood, who decided not to direct the sequel, is a producer on The Old Guard 2.  

For television, Prince-Bythewood most recently directed the first episode and served as an Executive Producer of ABC’s limited series Women of the Movement. The six-episode series aired in three parts debuting in January 2022, and is based on the true story of Mamie Till- Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till following his brutal murder in the Jim Crow South in 1955. Prince-Bythewood’s next television project will be Genius: MLK/X. Genius: MLK/X will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies, and key personal relationships of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. With their formidable wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, by their sides, King and Malcolm X became synonymous with the civil rights era and the fight for racial and economic justice. While they met only once and often challenged each other’s views, neither would have been as successful without the other. Other recent credits for Prince-Bythewood include the special event series, Shots Fired, which she and Rock Bythewood served as Series Co-Creators and Executive Producers. The ten-hour series for Fox examined the dangerous aftermath of two racially charged shootings in a small Southern town. In addition, Prince-Bythewood directed the pilot for Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, which launched to strong reviews and viewers, starring breakout actors Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as two teenagers with newly acquired superpowers who are mysteriously linked to one another.  

As a longtime advocate for equal representation in film and television on-screen and behind-the-scenes, Prince-Bythewood has championed many emerging writers and directors as well as funding a scholarship for African American students in the film program at UCLA, her alma mater.

*** SCREENING + Q&A INFORMATION ***

Check-in begins 6:30PM.

If you RSVP but are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation by 10:00AM Tuesday, November 22.

Free for current SCL members (click here to check your membership status) plus two guests who will stay for both the screening and Q&A. Please remember to RSVP for two (2) if you plan on bringing a guest.

In the event of a waitlist, please remember to sign up twice (2) if you plan on bringing a guest.

Guests of SCL members may NOT attend without the member invitee, or if the member RSVPs, but cannot attend and cancels.

Please allow extra time for traffic and check-in.

This invitation is non-transferable.

Per California state health guidelines, masks are recommended to be worn indoors at all times.

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