Jodie Turner-Smith has landed the lead role opposite Daniel Kaluuya in the upcoming film Queen & Slim, written by Lena Waithe and directed by Melina Matsoukas.

The official description for the film: A complex film with many layers, Queen & Slim explores America’s social and political climate through the lens of a genre-defying love story. When a Black man and Black woman on a first date are pulled over by a police officer at a traffic stop, their life goes awry. Forced to kill him in self-defense, rather than turn themselves in, they must go on the run to Cuba.

Universal has stateside distribution rights, where it will be released on November 27, 2019. Production will begin in January.

Turner-Smith stars in the upcoming George R.R. Martin series on Syfy, Nightflyers.

Waithe is producing through her Hillman Grad Productions, Matsoukas through her De La Revolución Films and James Frey (who bore the film's original idea and treatment) through his 3BlackDot. Andrew Coles and Michelle Knudsen are also producing.

This will be the feature debut for Matsoukas, who is an acclaimed music video director who has recently transitioned to television and now film. Her TV credits include Insecure and Master of None. She is helming the pilot for Y: The Last Man at FX and is adapting A Brief History of Seven Killings at Amazon.

Photo Credit: Photo by Jennifer Lourie/FilmMagic, Vanity Fair

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