Joshua BrandaoMadonna is getting into the groove of a new movie.
Variety reports that the Queen of Pop will direct Taking Flight, a film about ballerina Michaela De Prince. Based on De Prince’s memoir Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, it traces her unlikely story, from her life as an orphan in Sierra Leone to her success in the world of dance.
De Prince was adopted at the age of four and brought to the U.S.; she made her debut as a professional dancer at age 17. She appeared in Beyonce‘s visual album Lemonade and now dances with the Dutch National ballet.
Variety quotes Madonna as saying that the dancer’s “journey resonated with me deeply as both an artist and an activist who understands adversity.”
The star, who has adopted several orphans herself, adds, “We have a unique opportunity to shed light on Sierra Leone and let Michaela be the voice for all the orphaned children she grew up beside. I am honored to bring her story to life.”
Madonna’s directorial debut was the 2008 comedy Filth and Wisdom. In 2011, she directed W.E., about the life of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She also has plans to co-write and direct The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, based on the novel of the same name.
In addition, Madonna produced and wrote a documentary about the million children in Malawi orphaned by the AIDS crisis, called I Am Because We Are.
Besides her film projects, Madonna is also, according to her Instagram, “Mak[ing] Amazing Music with brilliant songwriters!”
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