Variety has unveiled a first look at FKA twigs as Josephine Baker in Maïmouna Doucouré’s biopic. During an October set visit, the outlet watched twigs film a cemetery confrontation with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who plays Baker’s mother. Source Source
The film is anchored in Baker’s 1951 return to the United States, where the entertainer and civil rights activist confronted racial segregation after finding fame in France. According to Variety, the story also moves through her St. Louis childhood, rise in 1920s Paris, French Resistance work during World War II and later years. Source
Doucouré, whose films include Cuties and Hawa, says she wants to explore Baker’s vulnerability and flaws alongside her resilience. “I want to tell the story of the woman behind the icon,” she tells Variety. Source
Twigs portrays Baker across decades, performing her songs, dancing and speaking French, which she hadn’t previously known. Doucouré says the British performer also had to learn different American accents and make the transitions between them feel natural. The choreography was only the beginning of the homework. Source
Doucouré didn’t want to make a conventional musical, but she wasn’t about to leave Baker’s performances offscreen. “Come on, it’s Josephine Baker! And I have FKA twigs. Of course, I’m going to make her dance and sing!” she tells Variety. Source
The production has enlisted about 2,400 extras and is recreating Paris’s Folies Bergère cabaret, Variety reports. Costume designer Emmanuelle Youchnovski says her department chose to make everything rather than rent costumes: “We made the hats, the shoes, even the buttons.” The rental rack has been shown the door. Source
Despite the American settings, filming is taking place entirely in Europe. Variety’s November 11 report says the shoot in France and Sofia, Bulgaria, is scheduled to run through November 13, 2026. Producer Zangro tells the outlet that U.S. filming was too expensive, explaining the use of Sofia backlots to recreate Harlem and Broadway. Baker’s American homecoming is getting a European address. Source
Studiocanal is co-producing with Bien ou Bien Productions, financing the film and handling international sales, with distribution planned in its own territories. Variety’s report does not give a release date. Source
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