Even without an event happening in 2020, the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival announced their lineup of films that make up this year’s “Official Selections.” And perhaps the most surprising announcement to be made is the fact that Steve McQueen had two features selected. Yes, you read that right—two films.
READ MORE: Letitia Wright & John Boyega To Star In Steve McQueen’s TV Series ‘Small Axe’
According to Thierry Fremaux, during his announcement of this year’s Cannes selections, McQueen has two films, titled “Mangrove” and “Lover’s Rock” that are given the Official Selection badge for this year’s festival. Now, if you’ve been following news about McQueen’s productions that he has been working on over the past year, you know that after the release of “Widows,” the filmmaker went to work on a BBC series titled “Small Axe.” The series will be an anthology of films with five different stories, focusing on London’s West Indian community during the decades of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Well, it appears that the plan with “Small Axe” has changed, as the series is now being made into an anthology of five feature-length films (via Deadline).
According to the report “Mangrove” is about the true story of the Mangrove Nine, starring Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, and Malachi Kirby. The second film, “Lover’s Rock,” is the fictional story of young love at a blues party in the early-’80s. That film stars Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Micheal Ward, Shaniqua Okwok, and Kedar Williams-Stirling. John Boyega has been previously announced as starring in one of the features, but it’s unclear which.
Previous to “Mangrove” and “Lover’s Rock,” McQueen most recently released “Widows.” However, he’s probably best known for his work on the Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave.” He also helmed the films “Hunger” and “Shame.”
“Mangrove,” “Lover’s Rock,” and the other three films will premiere later this year on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video in the US.
(An earlier version of the article stated “Small Axe” was turned into only two feature films. That has been amended. Sorry for the confusion.)