Nobel Peace Prize winner, activist, and self-confessed Stranger Things fan, Malala Yousafzai is all set to start production on her first project for Apple, stated sources. Her production company Extracurricular has partnered with the indie studio A24 for a still-untitled feature documentary on the legendary ‘haenyeo’ society of fisherwomen, who live on South Korea's Jeju Island. “I am a producer. I want my name to be there in TV shows, documentaries and movies,” Malala told a popular media house.
The Apple Original Films title will be directed by Sue Kim (The Speed Cubers), and it is the first project to go into production from Extracurricular's partnership with Apple TV+, which was struck in March 2021, according to reports. On Monday, Malala unveiled her first slate of film and TV projects for Apple TV+ through her production house.
On foraying into film production Malala said to media sources, “What I hope to bring to the table are the voices of women of colour, and debut writers and Muslim directors and writers. I hope we can have a wide range of perspectives and we challenge some of the stereotypes we hold in our societies. I also hope that the content is entertaining and that people fall in love with the characters and have the best time together.”(sic).”
Headlining the slate is the feature film adaptation of Elaine Hsieh Chou's acclaimed book Disorientation, which was published earlier this year. A sharp-edged, celebrated satire, the book tells the story of a college student's revealing dissertation on a young poet. The project will be directed by Don't Look Up helmer Adam McKay, according to sources.
Extracurricular is also working on a scripted series based on the New York Times best-selling debutante writer Asha Lemmie's coming-of-age novel, Fifty Words for Rain, which is about a woman's search for acceptance in post-World War II Japan.
The lead casting for both projects will introduce new talent, Extracurricular's head of production Erika Kennair told media sources. “Just by the nature of it, the lead of 50 Words for Rain is a half-Black half-Japanese woman. And unless Naomi Osaka wants to start acting, we're going to have to discover that woman, which is really exciting,”
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