Dave Stewart Entertainment announces the launch of the new musical feature film EBONY MCQUEEN, featuring top international talent, songs by Dave Stewart, and a musical score from Stewart & BAFTA, GRAMMY, and ACADEMY AWARD-winning superstar A.R. Rahman.
Set in Stewart’s hometown of Sunderland, UK, the musical film will feature British, South Asian, and American talent in period Northeast England. The film will be shot on location in Sunderland, which has recently been given the greenlight to build one of the biggest film studios in Europe.
ACADEMY AWARD nominated and BAFTA winning filmmaker, Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, What’s Love Got to Do With It?) is attached to direct the project, based on a script written by Stewart, Lorne Campbell & Selma Dimitrijevic, and Peter Souter.
Producing alongside Stewart are ACADEMY AWARD and BAFTA winner David Parfitt (Shakespeare in Love, The Father) for Trademark Films and David Jacobson (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Falconer) for Dave Stewart Entertainment.
Executive Producing for Whizz Kid Entertainment, a division of Lionsgate Alternative Television, is International Emmy Award-winner, Malcolm Gerrie, (Ibiza: The Silent Movie, Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe).
Attached to star in the titular role is three-time Olivier Award winning icon Sharon D. Clarke, (who collaborated with Stewart as the character Oda Mae in the Stewart-penned Ghost: The Musical) alongside breakout musical talent, Tom A. Smith, also from Sunderland.
Drawing inspiration from Stewart’s early life, the EBONY MCQUEEN musical feature is a semi-autobiographical journey into the Northeast of England as the cultural revolution of the late 60’s meets the social and economic challenges of the early 1970s. The film’s main character, Charlie McGarvey, dreams of being a pro footballer, but his hopes are shattered after a devastating injury. He soon discovers the transformative magic of creating music, which leads him on a journey that awakens the ability to fully pursue what he loves, despite the world falling apart around him. Additional casting is underway and the film is set to commence production in early 2025.
