FKA Twigs Becomes Josephine Baker: Inside the Lavish, Globe-Spanning Biopic from Maimouna Doucouré and Studiocanal (EXCLUSIVE)

FKA twigs is playing Josephine Baker in a new biopic directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, which centres on the performer’s private struggles as well as her public achievements. The film follows Baker’s 1951 return to the United States, where she faced the racial segregation she had escaped by building a career in France.

The story also moves through Baker’s childhood in St Louis, her rise in 1920s Paris, her work with the French Resistance and her later years. Studiocanal is co-producing, financing and handling international sales; the production has recruited about 2,400 extras for its large-scale scenes, including a recreation of the Folies Bergère. Doucouré chose twigs after auditions that tested candidates’ acting, singing and dancing.