Ethiopian novel The Shadow King is going to the big screen

Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King is set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, the best-selling historical fiction novel tells the story of the Ethiopian women soldiers who were left out of the historical record of World War II.

The novel follows, Aster, the wife of a commander in Haile Selassie’s overwhelmed army, and her household servant Hirut, who long to do more than care for the wounded and bury the dead. Together they offer a plan to maintain morale among Ethiopians, eventually becoming warriors and inspiring other women to take up arms against the Italians.

Kasi Lemmons, an American filmmaker is to write and direct The Shadow King. Lemmons wrote and directed Harriet. Lemmons’ credits include Lemmons' other feature credits include the Langston Hughes adaptation Black Nativity and the Ralph "Petey" Greene biopic Talk to Me. Most recently, she executive produced the Netflix limited series Self Made, starring Octavia Spencer, and directed two episodes of the series.

Lemmons said “Maaza Mengiste’s mesmerizing novel takes my breath away. The imagery is so rich and powerful and the characters so vividly drawn, it naturally lends itself to adaptation. I’m very honored to be a part of bringing this brilliant book to the screen and I’m thrilled to be working with everyone at Atlas.”

Mengiste, an Ethiopian-American writer and author was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but left the country at the age of four when her family fled the Ethiopian Revolution. She spent the rest of her childhood in Nigeria, Kenya, and the United States. She has published fiction and nonfiction dealing with migration, the Ethiopian revolution, and the plight of sub-Saharan immigrants arriving in Europe. Her 2010 debut novel Beneath the Lion's Gaze - the story of a family struggling to survive the tumultuous and bloody years of the Ethiopian Revolution - was named one of the 10 best contemporary African books by The Guardian.

We reached out to Maaza Mengiste to congratulate her and to find out when we should expect her work to theater near us. She said “I am thrilled about The Shadow King moving to the big screen. The producers and Kasi Lemmons are deeply invested in the book and the story. It is going to be exciting to see what unfolds from here. All of this is at the early stages so no release date yet.” You can keep up with her work and news about her upcoming movie on her Twitter.