Feature Film Bio of Fela in the Works

A film biography of Afrobeat innovator Fela Anikulapo Kuti—not related to the current Broadway musical Fela!— is in development from Focus Features, according to Variety. British director Steve McQueen (Hunger) will direct and write the script with Biyi Bandele, based on Michael Veal’s book Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon. No casting or start date has been set.

"Fela might be the most globally influential pop artist outside the Beatles in the last 50 years," Focus president James Schamus told Variety. "The Broadway show is pure joy, but Steve and Biyi's vision is very cinematic and distinctive. Fela was a revolutionary figure in world culture, and Steve is an artist who had a strong vision of politics and the world even before he made his first film. They are kindred spirits."

Fela, who was born in Nigeria and died of AIDS in 1997, created a musical style that blended jazz, funk and West African drums. His dramatic life story included multiple wives, the murder of his mother and other acts of retribution for his outspoken opposition to oppression in Africa.