‘Tell It Like a Woman’: Taraji P Henson to Direct Jennifer Hudson in Female-Led Anthology Film Starring Cara Delevingne and More

Hidden Figures

Taraji P. Henson, Jennifer Hudson, and Pauletta Washington have joined Iervolino Entertainment’s anthology film Tell It Like a Woman. The star-studded project is packed with powerful female performers that are also calling the shots behind the camera as well.

Star of Hidden Figures and Proud Mary, Taraji P. Henson is on board to direct Pepcy & Kim, a segment that is part of a new female-led anthology series entitled Tell It Like a Woman. Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, Chi-Raq) will star as in the segment “Pepcy and Kim,” opposite Pauletta Washington (Philidelphia).

“Pepcy & Kim” is inspired by the true story of Kim Carter, one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes in 2015. Carter had an extremely difficult upbringing and experienced a life of hardship revolving around drugs, prostitution, and homelessness. However, in 2002, she founded the Time for Change Foundation, an organization whose mission is to “empower disenfranchised low-income individuals and families by building leadership through evidence-based programs and housing to create self-sufficiency and thriving communities.”

A team of strong, talented women is also behind the camera to tell Carter’s impactful story. Henson’s segment is written by Catherine Hardwicke, known for directing Thirteen, Twilight, and Lords of Dogtown. Producers on “Pepcy & Kim” include Chiara Tilesi, Andrea Iervolino, and Monika Bacardi while Jennifer Ryan and Carol Polakoff are executive producers.

Tell It Like a Woman is a film by women and about women and is comprised of seven segments, making a feature-length film. The segments are directed by female directors from different parts of the world and were shot in Italy, India, Japan, and the USA. Each segment ranges in genre from drama to comedy, through docudrama and animation. The segments breakdown is as follows:

Unspoken – directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi and starring Margherita Buy
Lagonegro – directed by Lucia Puenzo and starring Eva Longoria
Elbows deep – directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Cara Delevingne, Marcia Gay Harden, and Jasmine Luv
Sharing a Ride – directed by Leena Yadav and starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Anjali Lama
A Week in My Life – directed by Mipo O and starring Anne Watanabe
Pepcy & Kim – directed by Taraji P. Henson and starring Jennifer Hudson and Pauletta Washington

Who Run the World? Girls.

I love everything about this announcement, y’all. From the female-driven production to the actresses involved and the woman they are portraying, this sounds like an amazing project. The way in which each story is combined to make a feature film really stands out compared to other anthologies that are more singular or segmented. Also, the fact that they filmed around the world and have a diverse group of women involved gives a sense of interlaced experiences on womanhood and solidarity both on camera and off.

Women collaborating in film always gets me hyped, and the last time a female-driven project of this caliber really impressed me was the 2017 anthology horror film XX. The first consists of five segments all written and directed by women. Ladies involved include Sofia Carrillo, Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin, and Karyn Kusama. XX gave women the opportunity to collectively shine in the horror genre and prove that the female lens is worth exploring further. I really hope the same for Tell It Like a Woman and that these ladies inspire even more women to tell their stories on screen and continue to support one another in the industry.

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