The biggest and best surprise of this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup of films was the fact that Steve McQueen (best known as the director of “12 Years a Slave,” “Hunger” and “Shame") had two features selected.
Yes, you read that right—two films. Titled “Mangrove” and “Lover’s Rock,” both were given the Official Selection badge of honor this morning. McQueen’s last film was 2018’s “Widows,” although he has been hard at work on a BBC series titled “Small Axe.” The series was expected to be an anthology TV series, focusing on London’s West Indian community during the decades of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, however, it appears that the plan is to now turn this miniseries 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 about “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.
I presume we will learn a lot more about these films in the coming days. A possible release straight to VOD or a streaming platform is being planned as we speak, according to a source I’ve spoken to, which means you can add this film to your must-see COVID-19 lockdown list.