After the acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. biopic “Selma” released back in 2015 and taking a minor role in the Disney film “A Wrinkle In Time,” David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay haven’t worked together in ages. Well, they’ve finally found their next feature as the two will reunite for the contemporary London-set thriller “Hesit of Bein.”
Deadline revealed info on the movie after the project was officially announced at StudioCanal Paris yesterday, which is described as a “thriller that intertwines art, love, and restitution.”
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Produced by Endurance Media‘s Steve Richards and Jake Katofsky, Yoruba Saxon‘s Lisa Bruce and Oyelowo, the movie stems from an original idea and spec script from screenwriter Jesse Quiñones, who is also set as executive producer. StudioCanal finances, distributes, and will handle international sales of “The Heist of Benin” with Ron Halpern, Shana Eddy, and Sam Shipp overseeing the tantalizing pic for the studio.
Reuniting with David in this way feels full circle. This film speaks to history, identity, and love, all through the lens of a high-stakes, modern adventure. I’m thrilled to bring it to life with him and StudioCanal,” DuVernay said in an official statement linked to the new film’s announcement.
With Oyelowo adding that the two have been searching for the right project to reunite on, “Ava and I have been looking for the right story to tell together again. ‘Heist’ is that story. It’s thrilling and high-powered with deeply resonant themes that matter to us both.”
Given the title of “The Heist of Benin” and mention of art, we have to assume we’re looking at a museum heist film, possibly connected to the Benin Bronzes, a collection of stolen artifacts from Nigeria that ended up in British museums. Ryan Coogler‘s “Black Panther” sort of treaded that ground with Killmonger’s liberation of a Wakanda artifact from a British museum, and there has been quite the growing international/domestic call for British museums to return looted artifacts/art pieces to their rightful countries.
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