Barry Jenkins, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind ‘Moonlight,’ has set his sights on an adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ for his next film.
Per Variety, the story follows Tish, a newly engaged Harlem woman who races against the clock to prove her lover’s innocence while carrying their first born child. It is a celebration of love told through the story of a young couple, their families and their lives, trying to bring about justice through love, for love and the promise of the American dream.
“James Baldwin is a man of and ahead of his time; his interrogations of the American consciousness have remained relevant to this day,” said Jenkins in a statement. “To translate the power of Tish and Fonny’s love to the screen in Baldwin’s image is a dream I’ve long held dear. Working alongside the Baldwin estate, I’m excited to finally make that dream come true.”
“We are delighted to entrust Barry Jenkins with this adaptation,” Baldwin’s sister, Gloria Karefa-Smart, said. “Barry is a sublimely conscious and gifted film-maker, whose Medicine for Melancholy impressed us so greatly that we had to work with him.”
Production on ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is expected to start in October, with Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures producing.