Grammy-winning artist FKA twigs will portray Josephine Baker in a new feature film about the pioneering American-French performer, activist and cultural icon. French filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, known for ‘Cuties’ and ‘Hawa,’ is attached to write and direct the biopic. The project is set to begin international sales at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens Tuesday, and production is planned for the fall.

StudioCanal is producing the film with Bien ou Bien Productions, the Bordeaux-based company behind Doucouré’s previous features. StudioCanal will also oversee theatrical distribution in several of its key markets, including France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand.

FKA twigs said she is eager to take on the role of Baker and bring the entertainer’s struggles, love, grief, artistry and bravery to the screen. She described Baker as a visionary and groundbreaking figure whose legacy remains resonant today.

*Courtesy of PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Stock Photo.*

The film is being made with the support of Baker’s surviving sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker. Both are part of Baker’s Rainbow Tribe, the multi-ethnic family of 12 children she raised at her château in southwest France beginning in the 1950s. Although other projects about Baker have been attempted over the years, this is the first major film to receive approval from her estate.

Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis in 1906, Baker rose to fame after moving to Paris in 1925 and became one of the Jazz Age’s most recognizable figures. She later served in the French Resistance during World War II and became active in the U.S. civil rights movement, including appearing alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. In November 2021, France honored Baker with induction into the Panthéon, making her the first Black woman to receive the distinction. The tribute renewed attention to her legacy in France, where she is viewed both as a progressive icon and as a symbol of national identity.

Doucouré, who is of Senegalese heritage and grew up in a Paris housing project, won Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic directing award for her 2020 debut feature ‘Cuties.’ The film’s U.S. release was partly eclipsed by controversy surrounding Netflix’s promotional artwork. Her second feature, the family adventure ‘Hawa,’ premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 before being released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video.

Doucouré said Baker’s story has been with her for years, and that developing the film has shown her how contemporary, bold and complicated Baker was. She said she hopes to look beyond the legend and examine Baker’s contradictions, pain, courage and lifelong fight for dignity.

FKA twigs won her first Grammy in February for Eusexua, which took Best Dance/Electronic Album. Her screen credits include Alma Har’el’s ‘Honey Boy,’ Rupert Sanders’ 2024 version of ‘The Crow’ with Bill Skarsgård, Lotfy Nathan’s biblical horror film ‘The Carpenter’s Son’ with Nicolas Cage, and David Lowery’s A24 film ‘Mother Mary,’ opposite Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

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