Daniel Kaluuya has earned acclaim in earnest for his talents in front of the camera in movies such as ‘Get Out’ and ‘Judas and the Black Messiah.’ Now, he’s gearing up to show his versatility behind it too.
For, the actor has paired up with Netflix for his screenwriting debut, ‘The Kitchen.’
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Billed as a futuristic dystopian drama, the feature has been a passion project Kaluuya has poured into for a number of years.
Indeed, ‘The Kitchen,’ which is based on an idea the British-Ugandan actor devised with Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Emmerson, was selected for the 2016 Sundance Screenwriting and Directing Lab.
Its official synopsis reads:
“‘The Kitchen’ is set in London, 2044, a future where the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. All forms of social housing have been eradicated and London’s working classes have been forced to live in temporary accommodation on the outskirts of the city, The Kitchen is the first and the largest of its kind, it’s London’s last village harboring residents that refuse to move on and move out of the place they call home. It’s here we meet Izi, a resident of the kitchen who is desperately trying to find a way out and 12-year-old, Benji, who has lost his mother and is searching for a family. We follow our unlikely pair as they battle to survive in a system that is stacked against them.”
Set to shoot in London and Paris, the film will see ‘Top Boy’ star Kane “Kano” Robinson take on the lead role of Izi, while Jedaiah Bannerman will co-lead as Benji.
As well as co-writing the film, Kaluuya is also producing by way of his 59% Productions umbrella.
Speaking on the venture, the 33-year-old said:
“In 2011, I was in my barbershop and there was a guy boasting about smash and grabs — kids doing million-pound heists in a minute, getting paid £200 [$260] to do it. I saw the potential to unlock a unique story door to the inequality, fatherhood, class, joy, resilience, courage, defiance, and care of London.
Now, nearly a decade later, Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Emmerson and I are about to start production, immersing ourselves in a dystopian London that interrogates what ‘care’ means, at home and as a society, and the dangers in our future if we stay indifferent to everything around us. I feel blessed and honored that my first co-writing film credit is with this inspiring group of creatives, and with the support of Film 4 and Netflix. All of us are excited to watch Kibwe’s incredible, cinematic, electric vision come to life, and to create a moment that audiences want to take with them.”
More power to Daniel!
We’re buzzed about ‘The Kitchen.’ Are you?
