I Saw My Femininity, Blackness in It: Viola Davis on What Inspired Her About The Woman King Script

The Woman King starring Academy Award-winning actor Viola Davis was set to release in India on October 5, but the film has moved its release date in the country to October 14. The film will tell the story about the warrior unit Agojie which was comprised of female fighters who oversaw protecting the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century.

“I saw my femininity in it. I saw my blackness in it,” Davis said about the movie’s script in a quote given exclusively to IGN India. “I saw a really important part of history in it. I always say any part of history is important, even the small parts. And I think that it is a story that the world is hungry for.”

While Davis leads the cast, International Emmy award-winning actor Thuso Mbedu, the first ever Black female 007 Lashana Lynch and Sheila Atim are also part of The Woman King.

She also added how she portrayed her character, General Nanisca, portrayed in the film helmed by Gina Prince-Bythewood enabled her to make this choice. “I saw in Nanisca a fully realized human being, and a woman who was tapping into her strength fully. I love her physical strength and I did see myself in that. I always felt like my femininity was wrong because I wasn’t small and willowy. There was something about Nanisca really being unapologetically Black African, a woman without the confines of what we see as being a woman.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment India describes The Woman King as follows:

The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness, unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Viola Davis) as she inspires the king to take on the enemies determined to violate their honour and destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for.

The Woman King will release in Indian cinemas on October 14 in English and Tamil.